Dean Obeidallah wins lawsuit against neo-Nazi website
The Muslim comedian and radio host pledged to donate any money he receives in damages to activists countering hate groups.
A federal judge on June 12 ordered the publishers of a neo-Nazi website to pay $4.1 million in damages to Muslim comedian Dean Obeidallah.
Obeidallah filed a civil suit in 2017 against the Daily Stormer’s founder, Andrew Anglin, over making and refusing to remove false claims that Obeidallah joined ISIS and was the “mastermind” behind the bombing of an Ariana Grande concert that killed 22 people.
Obeidallah—who hosts The Dean Obeidallah Show, billed as the first national radio show hosted by a Muslim American, and the podcast I Want to Be Your Muslim Friend—received death threats and other violent messages.
“If I end up collecting any money from these neo-Nazis,” Obeidallah wrote on CNN after the ruling, “I’m going to donate it to organizations that fight hate and bigotry.” —Religion News Service
A version of this article appears in the print edition under the title “People: Dean Obeidallah.”
