Hall Settles Lawsuit, Admits Fabricating Gillespie Dispute Story |

It looks like the hand may have slipped from the plow, even slightly, for Fellowship Baptist Church pastor Jordan Hall as reports emerged that he was settling a libel lawsuit brought by transgender Native American lobbyist Adrian Jawort.

The Sidney, Montana minister publicly apologized to Jawort on his online blog, The Montana Daily Gazette, and admits he made up the story of a dispute between Jawort and Senator Butch Gillespie that prompted the senator to seek the protection of the Montana Senate sergeant. to arms.

The apology published in The Montana Daily Gazette states:

"I apologize to Adrian Jawort. The information I posted about Adrian was false. Adrian did not threaten or harass Senator Butch Gillespie. I regret the error and sincerely apologize to Adrian to have it published.

-Jordan Hall, publisher of the Montana Daily Gazette

According to a report by Montana Daily's Darrell Ehrlick, the settlement and a potential $250,000 claim were reached as Hall goes through the bankruptcy process, seeking protection from a libel case, as well as a pay the attorney fees he accrued while fighting the defamation. .

As part of the settlement, the statement must remain on the Montana Daily Gazette's website for seven days in a "prominent" location and cannot be removed from the site.

The libel case was filed following an anonymous article published in The Montana Daily Gazette titled "Who's the Gothic Travestite Haunting the Halls of the Montana Capitol?", published under Hall's Gideon Knox group, claiming that Jawort had attacked Gillespie in the halls of the Capitol. Capitol. In the story, Hall said Jawort attacked Gillespie during a hearing on a controversial bill involving transgender athletes.

Hall now admits that his account of the incident was not true.

While Jawort will ask the state court to dismiss the defamation charges against Hall, the lobbyist will be able to seek a $250,000 judgment against Hall's estate in bankruptcy court as part of the settlement. This case is still pending and it is unclear whether Jawort will be able to claim any of the judgments.

In a statement published on the Daily Montanan, Jawort said, "I am grateful that after a tumultuous year, Pastor Jordan Hall was finally able to admit to defamation and bearing false witness against me. At a time when trans people like me are targeted by political targets behind their backs, it was especially dangerous of him to falsely accuse me of bullying and harassing an elderly senator whom I had never met to the point where the arm-sergeant had to pull me away," Jawort said. "There are people out there who would have hurt me physically, if they thought it was true and then saw me, to get revenge."

Sen. Gillespie, a Toole County Republican, previously issued an affidavit in the lawsuit. On September 30, 2021, Gillespie said he was yelled at by someone he didn't recognize.

"As I approached the main doors leading to the Senate floor, the person who had previously voiced his opposition to HB112 became very passionate, "The person started shouting that HB 112 was unfair and against humanity ", states Gillespie's affidavit.

According to a statement, Jawort had never testified about the bill and was not even in Helena when the incident happened.

Court records show Jawort reached out within hours of Hall's publication and demanded a retraction or correction for that part of the story, letting further inflammatory comments through.

When Hall refused, Jawort said there was no choice but to press charges.

"I knew this rhetoric would only get worse, and they will get worse," Jawort said, adding that he was already falsely attacked as a pedophile or as a child care worker by some.

Jawort says it's unclear if the event with Gillespie happened and was a case of mistaken identity, or if it was concocted to silence the LGBTQ community.

Regarding his attack on Jawort and others, Hall had proclaimed, "My lawyer asked me to fire. I can not do it. I can not stop. It is mandatory. Because it's the Holy Spirit in our heart pushing us, pushing us, pushing us forward, with our hand on the plow, and we dare not take it away.

The pastor is on a three-month sabbatical after recently being charged with driving under the influence and carrying a concealed weapon while under the influence. Hall has pleaded not guilty in the case and says fatigue and prescription drug use are the cause of the arrest.