Ex-Salt Lake GOP leader threatens to sue state officials who condemned him on social media

The Salt Lake County GOP’s former communications director is threatening to file a $30 million lawsuit because of the condemnation he experienced after multiple women stepped forward claiming he had harassed and bullied them.

In his Wednesday notice of claim against the state, Dave Robinson documented statements, social media comments and even Facebook likes from dozens of Utah politicians and elected officials, amounting to what he asserts was a “concerted effort to defame him.”

The notice is not a lawsuit; it is a step required before a suit can be filed against a government agency or employee. It complains that Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson publicly denounced Robinson over the harassment allegations — and that criticism from these high-ranking state leaders “opened the floodgates for elected officials and others to dog-pile and condemn.”

In a March article published by The Salt Lake Tribune, more than a half dozen Republican women said Robinson engaged in harassment, body-shaming and other inappropriate behavior. In his claim, he denied the accusations.

Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2021/10/20/utah-politicians-led/