A federal judge granted The Daily Beast’s motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by former Secret Service member and former NRATV show host Dan Bongino, according to court documents filed Thursday. Judge Jose Martinez wrote that the suit ran afoul of Florida’s anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) statute, finding it “fails to state a claim for defamation” and was filed “without merit.” Bongino filed a $15 million suit against The Daily Beast in December 2019, alleging defamation and related claims over a 2018 story documenting the end of his NRATV show, We Stand, which came as the gun rights organization downsized. “It’s not a crybaby snowflake thing,” Bongino said when he filed the suit.
