CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Todd Bice delivering his opening statement
Las Vegas, NV - A Nevada state court jury heard opening statements Monday in a lawsuit filed by the former CEO of the right-wing social media platform Parler accusing partners Rebekah Mercer, a billionaire Republican donor and Dan Bongino, former deputy FBI Director, of forcing him out of the company, and the full trial is being webcast gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
An attorney for plaintiff John Matze told the Clark County jury that Mercer and Bongino, at the time a prominent podcast host, conspired to oust Matze from his role following the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Matze claims Mercer and Bongino used the fallout from Parler’s alleged role in the January 6 violence to cause him to lose his job and a 40 percent interest in the company, however the defendants maintain Matze was dismissed for cause due to “gross incompetence.”
The full proceedings are being webcast and recorded live and on-demand by CVN. Contact CVN for information on subscription options ranging from individual access for single viewers all the way up to institutional firm-wide accounts. CVN’s coverage will include all witness testimony, along with time-synced digital images of all demonstratives and exhibits displayed in the courtroom.
Matze’s attorney Todd Bice of Pisanelli Bice PLLC told jurors prior to the January 6 insurrection that Parler, described as a “free-speech alternative” to Twitter, had over $15 million users and drew interest from numerous prominent Republicans, including JD Vance. Bice disclosed that Fox even considered acquiring the Parler app.
Bice claimed Mercer and Bongino sought Matze’s ouster even before January 6, and that blame for the violent assault on the United States Capitol carried out by supporters of President Donald Trump gave them their opportunity.
“Facebook, Twitter, Amazon all wanted to find a scapegoat, and they found one: The upstart competitor Parler,” Bice said. “And they all turned on it.”
Parler was removed from Apple’s App Store in the wake of the attack, resulting in a precipitous drop in its user numbers.
Bice rejected the notion Parler had any responsibility for the day’s events, noting the company had been cooperating with the FBI about alarming online discussions in the preceding weeks, but Bice said that didn’t prevent Mercer and Bongino from going ahead with their plan.
Representing Mercer, defense attorney Chad Clement of Marquis Aurbach insisted that despite the prominent names involved this is a fairly straightforward contract case, and that Matze was appropriately dismissed for “gross incompetence.”
CVN screenshot of defense attorney Chad Clement delivering his opening statement
Clement argued Matze gave a number of media interviews in the wake of January 6 that caused enormous reputational damage to Parler and were the eventual reason for its drop in revenue.
“The very words of Parler’s own CEO were cited as the reason for deplatforming the company,” Clement said.
Clement told jurors Matze was warned about giving an interview to the New York Times in which he denied any responsibility for the insurrection that was later cited by Apple in its deplatforming decision.
“The insurrection at the Capitol put Parler in a national spot, and not in a good way,” Clement said. “Media outlets were pointing at Parler, asking whether, asking whether the platform had been used to organize the violence.”
An attorney for Dan Bongino told jurors Bongino didn’t play an active role in the day-to-day management in the company while defending Matze’s dismissal as consistent with his contract.
The trial is taking place before Judge Maria Gall and is expected to take roughly four weeks to complete. CVN’s live and on-demand coverage will continue for the duration of the proceedings.
The case is captioned John Matze v. Parler, et al., case number in Nevada’s Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County.
