Southern Baptist Leader Sues Former Southern Baptist Leader For “Defamation, Invasion Of Privacy, Distress”

The Tennessean reports:

Mike Stone, a leader of the group trying to pull the Southern Baptist Convention further to the right, has sued Russell Moore, the former president of the denomination’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, for “claims of defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and emotional distress.”

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee, follows recent attacks against Moore from the ultra-conservative Southern Baptist wing for, they believe, deliberately leaking letters that criticized Southern Baptist leaders for mishandling sexual abuse claims in the Nashville-based denomination.

Stone, a pastor from Georgia, makes the same allegation against Moore in the lawsuit. Moore’s letters also harmed Stone’s overall reputation and “diminished his future earning capacity,” Stone’s complaint contends. Stone, who is represented by the Brentwood-based Cole Law Group, is seeking $750,000 in damages.

Read the full article.

The lawsuit accuses Moore of deliberately leaking letters that criticized Southern Baptist leaders for mishandling sexual abuse claims in the Nashville-based denomination. https://t.co/mJMbmm4y0r

— Tennessean (@Tennessean) October 20, 2021