Judge Rules Freedom Caucus PAC Mailers Didn’t Defame Rock Springs Legislators

A judge on Thursday dismissed the defamation case of two state legislators against the campaign arm of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, ruling that even “pretty ludicrous” political attacks are protected by the First Amendment. Uinta County District Court Judge James Kaste threw out the lawsuit brought by state Reps. Cody Wylie and JT Larson, both Republicans of Rock Springs, over 2024 mailers that claimed they had aligned with the radical left and voted to keep President Donald Trump off the ballot.

No vote to keep Trump off the ballot ever occurred in the Wyoming Legislature. Instead, Wylie and Larson had voted in favor of a budget footnote limiting the Secretary of State’s office from using taxpayer money on out-of-state lawsuits in which Wyoming was not a party. Secretary of State Chuck Gray had been filing amicus briefs in a Colorado case supporting Trump’s ballot access.

To win a defamation case as public figures, Wylie and Larson needed to show that the WY Freedom PAC either knew its claims were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Judge Kaste concluded from the evidence that PAC chair Kari Drost and state Rep. John Bear, who crafted the mailers, truly believed what they wrote.

“I think that chain of causation they describe is, um, trying to find the right word for, pretty ludicrous,” Kaste said of the characterization of the legislators’ votes. “And yet in politics, given our First Amendment, you can say pretty ludicrous stuff.”

Kaste noted that political operatives often get “wrapped around their own axle and drink their own whiskey” and set out to harm political enemies through mailers calculated to do maximum damage. “And that ain’t actual malice,” he said. The remedy, he added, is what Wylie and Larson did: put out their own ads, shake hands with voters, and get reelected.

Bear reacted to the ruling by saying, “I’m super excited that the First Amendment still exists in Wyoming.” Wylie said the case was about accountability and “making sure outside money doesn’t distort our elections or mislead Wyoming voters.” He emphasized he has never voted to remove Trump from any ballot. “That narrative was false from the start, pushed by out-of-state groups trying to create chaos here in Wyoming,” he said.

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus celebrated the ruling as a victory against “meritless lawfare,” calling the lawsuit a strategic lawsuit against public participation. “Politicians don’t get to silence speech that points out their unpopular voting records,” the group said in a statement. Wylie said he and Larson are reviewing the decision and considering their next steps.