The New York Times published an article with information that former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin may have been involved in the 2011 Arizona shooting. The woman attempted to file a libel suit, but a court in Manhattan dismissed the claim, The New York Times reported.
A federal judge dismissed the claim accusing the newspaper of spreading defamatory information. On June 15, the NYT published a story about a shooting in Virginia in which Stephen Scalise, the Republican deputy leader of the House of Representatives, had been shot the day before. The author of the article described the incident as analogous to the 2011 shooting in which a mentally ill man shot Congressman Gabriel Giffords.
Sarah Palin, according to the author, was partially responsible for the shooting because she was actively involved in the political struggle. As evidence, the newspaper cited that shortly before the shooting, Palin’s committee had posted a picture on its website with a scope aimed at Democratic politicians. However, the newspaper noted that no one has established any connection between the committee’s publication and the shooting.
Nevertheless Palin filed a suit claiming NYT libeled her and asked for compensation, but the court didn’t find anything illegal in the newspaper’s publication.