Mastriano v. Gregory: Politician Tries to Silence Critics of His Academic Scholarship

Motion to Dismiss

When military historian James P. Gregory Jr. criticized Pennsylvania politician Douglas Mastriano’s academic scholarship, he anticipated a good-faith debate. Instead, Mastriano tried to silence James by suing him for defamation and federal claims ranging from RICO to antitrust violations. Academic disputes, however, should be decided in the marketplace of ideas, not the courtroom. That’s why FIRE is defending James and asking the court to dismiss Mastriano’s claims against him.  

Mastriano’s lawsuit is a textbook Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, also known as a “SLAPP.” SLAPPs are intended to chill speech by forcing the speaker to defend themself against costly and time-consuming litigation. 

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The dispute between Mastriano and James does not belong in court: It is an academic disagreement over the legacy of one of the nation’s most famous World War I heroes, Sgt. Alvin York. Both Mastriano and James have published books about Sgt. York, but with conflicting historical accounts. James became aware of Mastriano’s work while researching his own book. After observing citations and quotations that appeared to be incorrect, James carefully documented and reported more than 200 issues with Mastriano’s research on Sgt. York to the University of New Brunswick. During Mastriano’s campaign for state senator and subsequent unsuccessful campaign for governor, the academic dispute became major headline news in Canadian and U.S. media. 

In May, Mastriano sued James for defamation, violations of the Civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and the Sherman Antitrust Act. Mastriano sued 27 other defendants, including the University of New Brunswick in Canada and its administrators.

Fortunately, Oklahoma passed the Oklahoma Citizens Participation Act to allow courts to quickly dismiss a lawsuit targeting First Amendment-protected speech and make the plaintiff responsible for paying the defendant’s legal fees. More than 30 states have similar anti-SLAPP measures on the books, but residents of the other states are perpetually at risk of being sued into silence for speaking their minds.

On September 19, FIRE moved to dismiss Mastriano’s lawsuit against James. In the motion, James argues that Oklahoma’s anti-SLAPP law mandates dismissing Mastriano’s state law claim for defamation because it is based on James’ protected speech on matters of public concern. James also argues that Mastriano has failed to plead facts to establish a violation of any federal law. Bob Nelon of the law firm Hall Estill serves as local counsel.