Washington Court Dismisses Pastor’s Defamation Suit Under UPEPA, Free-Speech Shield Prevails

### Pastor Sues Over Rape Claim, Court Shields Free Speech

Washington appeals court slams the door on a pastor’s defamation suit against his ex-assistant, ruling her “rape” accusation in a letter and blog post is protected speech under the new Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA). Pastor Micahn Carter, who bedded assistant Mary Jones in his church office, lost big as judges deemed him a limited public figure and her words non-actionable opinion or privileged. This turbocharged anti-SLAPP law now arms speakers against meritless suits chilling public debate on scandals like clergy sex abuse.

The saga ignited in 2019 when Carter, lead pastor at Yakima’s Together Church, had sex with Jones—his employee and parishioner—right after a leadership event. Jones later called it “rape” in a 2021 letter to Carter’s new Alabama church boss and a Medium blog detailing grooming, power imbalances, and her trauma. Carter sued in Washington after an Alabama flop, claiming reputational ruin, lost gigs, and book deals. Trial court let it slide; appeals judges reversed December 30, 2025, tossing the case outright under UPEPA’s fast-track dismissal for speech on public concerns like workplace predation by pastors.

In plain terms: Courts ruled Jones’ letter to the church privileged (common interest in warning about a preacher’s morals), her blog pure opinion (loaded with her backstory so readers judge consent), and Carter a “limited public figure” via his pulpit fame, book, and scandal speeches—requiring proof of “actual malice” he couldn’t touch. No consent evidence from Carter; her pleas of “don’t do this” and therapy flips rang true amid pastor-parishioner power gaps. Jones wins dismissal, fees; Carter’s suit dies as judges stress free speech trumps reputational gripes in #MeToo-era church scandals.

UPEPA’s bite echoes anti-SLAPP wins nationwide, slashing early suits over hot-button speech—here, clergy abuse mirroring Catholic scandals. No direct SEC/CFTC shift, but crypto parallels scream: decentralized voices (blogs, DAOs) gain armor against centralized power plays (exchanges, influencers) suing to silence fraud or rug-pull calls. Traders cheer—platforms like X or Discord face less “chilling” litigation risk, boosting DeFi whistleblowing on shady tokens or stablecoin issuers without SEC-style gag fears. Exchanges watch warily: heightened bar for defamation suits could embolden user exposés on wash trading or insider dumps, testing CFTC commodity labels amid sentiment swings.

Markets crave this clarity—embrace the speech shield or risk your narrative getting wrecked.