He Sued a Local Paper for Calling His Emails 'Aggressive.' The Judge Read the Emails

Shiva Ayyadurai, running as an independent against Sen. Ed Markey, sued the Belmont Voice in federal court in Boston claiming it broke a contract to cover him and discriminated against him. Wednesday night, for the second time in three days, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs told him he has no case, Universal Hub reports.

His evidence of racial bias, per the ruling: the Voice interviewed a white candidate, called him "Mr." instead of "Dr.," and described his conduct as "aggressive." The judge then reviewed the emails he sent the Voice, in which, she wrote, he called them "scumbags," accused them of "blatant malevolence," said they "must be punished" and wrote, "Fuck you and the Belmont Voice."

Her finding: the Voice's characterization of the emails as "aggressive" was "entirely accurate." On the contract claim, the ruling found there was no contract in the first place, just an email saying the Voice planned to cover him and another independent.

Dez's take: The First Amendment applies in Belmont too. A small local outlet doesn't owe any candidate a puff piece, and you don't get to cuss out the newsroom and then sue them for noticing.

What we still don't know: whether he appeals, and whether he ever answers the Voice's questionnaire like everybody else.