The lawsuit filed in a Colorado federal court also alleges Matt Wallace intentionally profited from the rumors he spread about Jo Ellis.
Radio issues, altitude possible factors in DC plane crash, NTSB says
The NTSB cited key factors in January’s midair collision between an Army Black Hawk and an American Airlines jet over the Potomac River.
A transgender National Guard pilot has sued a right-wing influencer over false claims that she was involved in the Jan. 29 plane crash with a Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C.
Jo Ellis, a Virginia Army National Guard helicopter pilot, filed the lawsuit in a Colorado federal court Wednesday against Matt Wallace, a cryptocurrency investor and social media personality.
The day after the plane crash that killed 67 people, President Donald Trump blamed the accident on diversity efforts, although the investigation into the accident had just begun. The lawsuit states that Wallace’s comments about Ellis started shortly thereafter.
“(Wallace) knew the public wanted to blame someone for this unspeakable tragedy and he knew a transgender Black Hawk pilot was the perfect villain for his story,” the complaint states. “Once Defendant planted his inane theory that the collision was intentionally caused by the helicopter and that the helicopter was piloted by Plaintiff, a transgender Black Hawk pilot, the theory went viral.”
Lawsuit alleges Wallace used X profile to profit from transphobic rumors
Ellis woke up two days after the crash and was inundated with messages from people who thought she had perished in the flight, the lawsuit states. She also saw social media posts suggesting she had caused the collision. All three soldiers in the Army helicopter died in the crash.
The lawsuit alleges Wallace profited from these rumors intentionally.
“(Wallace) used his prominent X platform to monetize a false narrative that (Ellis) was not only one of the Army pilots involved in the mid-air collision, but also that she engaged in ‘another trans terror attack’ and intentionally caused the mid-air collision due to her ‘depression’ and ‘Gender Dysphoria,'” the lawsuit states.
After Ellis posted a video confirming she was alive and not involved in the crash, Wallace admitted she was not flying the helicopter, but continued to misgender her on social media, according to the lawsuit.
Represented by the Equality Legal Action Fund, Ellis is seeking damages in the lawsuit. Wallace did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s social media request for comment.
Jo Ellis caught in misinformation crosshairs after Trump’s trans military ban
The lawsuit says Ellis “was a private citizen who led a private life away from social media and the limelight.”
Ellis joined the Virginia Army National Guard in 2009, deployed in Iraq in 2011 and Kuwait in 2016, according to the lawsuit. Despite experiencing gender dysphoria symptoms at the age of 5, she didn’t come out publicly as a woman until 2024, the lawsuit states.
In a previous interview with USA TODAY, Ellis explained her decision came after her flight training evaluations, and that any DEI policies in the military wouldn’t have helped her.
“There’s no way any DEI policy could have benefited me if one exists,” she said. “I don’t know of any DEI policy that changes pilot standards. The standards are the same regardless of race, gender, etc.”
In a podcast released the morning of the plane crash, Ellis talked about her fear of not being able to serve after Trump’s executive order banning transgender service members from the military. This executive order was temporarily blocked by two federal judges in March.
Some of the false posts that came up after the plane crash said that Ellis had “anti-Trump views,” but she said in an interview that she only opposed the military ban.
“I swore an oath to defend my country, and as an officer in the U.S. military, I will honor that oath regardless of who the president is,” Ellis said, as USA TODAY previously reported. “I don’t believe any personal political opinions impact the ability to do my job. I’ve served for 15 years under presidents and governors of both political parties without issue.”
Contributing: Katie Smith
Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.