Court in Bruce Lehrmann defamation case orders alleged online troll to court

Court in Bruce Lehrmann defamation case orders alleged online troll to court

A Federal Court judge has mandated the appearance of an individual in court amid allegations that he illicitly uploaded numerous videos on YouTube showcasing the defamation trial of Bruce Lehrmann.

In the concluding phase of the five-week hearing in the preceding month, Justice Michael Lee directed the tech giant Google to disclose the identity of the individual responsible for uploading videos that displayed the court proceedings.

Subsequently, the court has issued an order for Glenn Logan to appear before it. Allegations suggest that he is the individual behind the account that purportedly violated a Federal Court prohibition order prohibiting the rebroadcasting of the YouTube livestream of the defamation proceedings. Such actions could potentially constitute contempt of court.

Despite the closure of the Federal Court during the Christmas break, Justice Lee issued orders on Friday requiring Mr. Glenn Logan to appear in court in February.

The court orders specify that Mr. Logan must personally appear or be represented by his legal counsel before the Federal Court of Australia at 9:30 am on February 13, 2024. During this appearance, he is expected to provide reasons to Justice Lee as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for the alleged violation of the prohibition orders. It’s important to note that Mr. Logan has not yet been charged with contempt.

The alleged breach involves the publication of nine videos on the YouTube channel “Feminism Debunked,” with only two of them currently remaining online, as per Justice Lee’s identification. One of these videos, posted on December 11, laments the removal of most videos from the Lisa Wilkinson defamation trial, citing it as “bad news.” The account encourages its followers to view the videos on alternative platforms, asserting that every video on the channel has been demonetized due to the platform being “run by extreme feminists.”

Beyond the coverage of the defamation trial, the account contains numerous videos that critique and attack women and feminism. Prominent figures such as sexual assault survivor Grace Tame, Brittany Higgins, and journalist Lisa Wilkinson are common subjects in these videos.

Bruce Lehrmann is currently pursuing legal action against Lisa Wilkinson and Network 10 regarding an interview with Brittany Higgins that was broadcast on The Project. Lehrmann asserts that the interview falsely conveyed his guilt in the alleged rape of Ms. Higgins at Parliament House in 2019.

Consistently maintaining his innocence, Lehrmann pleaded not guilty, and the charge against him was dropped in 2022 when a criminal trial was terminated due to juror misconduct.

Over the course of the final five weeks of the court’s session for the year, the defamation case unfolded, featuring testimonies from Mr. Lehrmann, Ms. Higgins, their friends, family, and colleagues, along with statements from Lisa Wilkinson and other individuals involved in the story.

As the year concluded, Justice Lee has yet to render a decision on the matter.