RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Afroman has filed a new lawsuit against one of the Ohio police officers who raided his property, months after the rapper won a high-profile jury verdict against them.
The case targets Brian Newland, one of seven officers who sued the rapper for defamation in 2023 for releasing music videos that mocked them for a failed 2022 raid on his home. Following a March trial that captivated social media, a jury rejected those claims in a verdict hailed as a major free speech victory.
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In a complaint filed in Ohio court and obtained by Billboard , Afroman is turning the tables — accusing Newland of filing the defamation case as “malicious prosecution,” which the rapper says “lacked legal merit” and was designed only to “harass” him.
“Plaintiff suffered emotional distress, anxiety and reputational harm as a result of defendant’s frivolous lawsuit,” Afroman’s lawyers write. “Defendant’s conduct in filing and prosecuting the frivolous lawsuit was willful, wanton and malicious.”
The lawsuit filed by Afroman, best known for his 2000 hit “Because I Got High,” is seeking at least $25,000 in legal bills and other expenses Afroman says he was forced to incur during the lawsuit.
In a statement on Instagram, the star announced the lawsuit as a “birthday present” to himself: “I’m suing the police officer who stole my $400, then had the audacity to sue me for 1,500,000 dollars.”
Newland could not immediately be reached for comment. It’s unclear why the rapper is suing only him and not the other six officers involved in the earlier case and trial.
In August 2022, Ohio county sheriff’s deputies raided Afroman’s home with guns drawn, smashing down his door and seizing $5,031 in cash and other property. They had a search warrant on suspicions of drug trafficking and kidnapping, but no wrongdoing was uncovered, no charges were ever filed and the money was later returned.
After the search, Afroman used his own surveillance camera footage to create music videos and other social posts mocking the officers, including one called “Lemon Pound Cake” that ridiculed one deputy for apparently eyeing a cake on his counter.
In 2023, Newland and six others (Shawn D. Cooley, Justin Cooley, Michael D. Estep, Shawn S. Grooms, Lisa Phillips and Randolph L. Walters, Jr.) filed a civil lawsuit claiming they’d suffered “emotional distress” and been “subjected to threats, including death threats” because of Afroman’s posts.
When the case finally went to trial in March, it was a spectacle that quickly went viral on social media. Afroman was decked out in an American flag suit as his lawyer played the videos. One deputy wept dramatically on the witness stand for jurors; another testified that he wasn’t sure whether or not his wife had sex with Afroman.
Under the absurdity, the case centered on lofty issues of free speech. Afroman testified at trial that he had a First Amendment right to mock the officers, particularly after they smashed down his door for ultimately no reason: “All of this is their fault, and they have the audacity to sue me.” And after just hours of deliberation, the jury sided entirely with Afroman, clearing him of liability for defamation or invasion of privacy.
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