TACO HELL

Army Vet Sues MAGA Lettuce Grower Over ‘Explosive’ Illness

The Army veteran spent two days in the hospital as Taco Bell and MAGA-linked lettuce supplier Taylor Farms face mounting lawsuits.

An Army veteran is suing Taco Bell, lettuce supplier Taylor Farms and the franchise operator of an Ohio restaurant after he says a parasite-contaminated meal left him hospitalized for two days during what was supposed to be his summer vacation.

David Ott, who served 27 years in the U.S. Army, says he ate Taco Supremes from a Taco Bell in Youngstown, Ohio, on June 18 and June 20 before falling violently ill. According to the lawsuit, Ott developed excruciating abdominal pain, severe gas and bloating, nausea, headaches, dizziness, a low-grade fever and what he described as “explosive watery diarrhea.”

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His wife rushed him to Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center on June 22, where he underwent a CT scan, colonoscopy and extensive blood and stool testing. Doctors eventually confirmed he had contracted cyclosporiasis, a parasitic illness caused by Cyclospora. Ott was hospitalized for two days before being discharged with a prescription for the antibiotic Bactrim.

His attorney, food safety lawyer Ron Simon, told the Daily Beast that many patients may not be diagnosed unless they specifically request Cyclospora testing.

“The first thing I would do is immediately go get a stool culture for Cyclospora, and they need to ask for that test specifically,” Simon said. “It’s not normally given in the ER. They normally do a generic stool test, which does not test for Cyclospora.”

The FDA has identified Taylor Farms, which supplied lettuce to Taco Bell locations, as a possible source of the outbreak.

Taco Bell said it completed the removal of the affected Taylor Farms lettuce from all of its restaurants by July 17. The chain said it worked “swiftly” with public health officials and that the affected lettuce has since been eliminated from its nationwide supply chain.

“We took this action to ensure our guests can enjoy their Taco Bell favorites safely,” the company said in a statement.

Taylor Farms has also come under scrutiny over its ties to Donald Trump and other Republicans. Federal Election Commission records show Taylor Fresh Foods, the company’s parent, donated $1 million to the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. in 2025, while CEO Bruce Taylor has personally contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican committees and candidates.

The political connections drew renewed attention after company executives met with White House and FDA officials one day before Taylor Farms announced a voluntary recall of lettuce sourced from Central Mexico. While there is no evidence the meeting influenced the government’s response, the timing fueled online speculation after the FDA later said a positive test on one lettuce sample was actually a false positive. The agency has maintained that its investigation still points to Taylor Farms lettuce as the likely source of the outbreak.

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Ott’s lawyer called it “the largest outbreak in recent American history.”

“I’ve handled every major outbreak in the last 20 years in the United States, and there hasn’t been anything remotely close to this,” he said. “You have to go back much further in history to find something that’s even close.”

Simon said his firm expects additional lawsuits.

“It’s not slowing down,” he said. “I’ve had to hire more people in my law firm just to answer the phones.”

According to Newsweek, Ott’s complaint seeks at least $25,000 in damages, alleging Taco Bell, Taylor Farms and the franchise operator sold defective and unreasonably dangerous food.

His lawsuit is one of several filed over the outbreak. A Michigan couple, Preston and Marie Parrish, filed a federal lawsuit alleging they became sick after eating at a Taco Bell in Durand and are seeking at least $75,000 in damages. Another Ohio woman, Valerie Caruso, also sued after alleging she tested positive for Cyclospora following multiple Taco Bell meals containing lettuce.

According to the CDC, Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that contaminates food through contact with human feces, often via irrigation or wash water. Infection can cause prolonged diarrhea, severe stomach cramps, nausea, fatigue, and dehydration, with symptoms sometimes lasting for weeks if left untreated.