Activists from the No Labels political group have gone to court to seek information about a Democratic Party-supporting media company it says is behind a fake pro-Donald Trump website.
No Labels is a bipartisan political movement that had hoped to run a third-party candidate in the 2024 presidential election and wants to break the two-party system.
It claims that the activist group, the American Patriots Project [APP], set up a fake website to make it look as if No Labels was strongly pro-Trump. No Labels later withdrew its attempts to run a centrist, third-party candidate after intense opposition from Democrats.
It complains in court documents that voters who logged onto NoLabels.com were greeted with pro-Trump messages as a way of discrediting the No Labels organization.
The group claimed to Delaware judge, Gregory B. Williams, that the fake website used the same name, logo and brand colors as No Labels' own website.
In February, Williams granted a temporary injunction to No Labels, forcing APP to take down the NoLabels.com website.
No Labels is now seeking damages and on November 5 it subpoenaed APP activist Joshua Silver, seeking to uncover his links to Democratic Party-supporting media company, Break Something.
Newsweek sought email comment from APP, Break Something and No Labels on Tuesday.
Break Something received payments of over $3.2 million from Democratic Party organizations in 2024, according to figures released by the transparency organization, Open Secrets.
These included over $470,000 from the Blue Senate Political Action Committee, which promotes Democratic candidates for the Senate.
Break Something states on its LinkedIn profile that it is "an email and advertising firm working to get progressive candidates elected using unique, innovative digital strategy" and its account on X, formerly Twitter, has a recent job posting for a candidate who likes to get Democrats elected.
The subpoena orders Silver to reveal "all agreements that APP entered with consultants who performed work related to No Labels, NoLabels.com Inc., NoLabels.com, the NoLabels.com Domain, and/or nolabels.org," including all agreements with Break Something.
That includes "all documents and communications disclosing the source of funds that APP used to pay for work related to No Labels, NoLabels.com Inc., NoLabels.com, NoLabels.com Domain, and/or nolabels.org between August 1, 2023 and February 29, 2024," including work performed by Break Something.
In a separate case, progressive activists are accused by No Labels of a campaign of harassment.
Court records show that a "Direct Action Campaign" proposal called for clowns to be sent to the home of two No Labels leaders, and to send musicians to the house at 6 a.m. to annoy their neighbors.
English (US) ·