A Newsweek reporter with epilepsy charges that a tweeted strobe flash from a Donald Trump supporter triggered a seizure – and is now pressing a court to help him unmask the poster's identity.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Kurt Eichenwald – who reported on Donald Trump's foreign business entanglements during the presidential campaign – received the anonymous tweet of an image of a strobe flashing at rapid speed on Dec. 15 after a contentious interview with Fox News' Tucker Carlson.
A court document filed Monday by Eichenwald's lawyer stated the Twitter user — @jew_goldstein – "sent this image with the intent of causing a seizure, as evidenced by the words Doe typed onto the strobe, 'You deserve a seizure for your posts.' Doe succeeded in his effort to use Twitter as a means of committing assault, causing [Eichenwald] to have a seizure which led to personal injury."
Eichenwald tweeted the filing, which labels the tweet and its consequence as an "assault," as well as a warning to the anonymous poster.
The Hollywood Reporter states the legal filing is aiming for a pre-suit deposition of Twitter's "records custodian" to find out the identity of the poster ahead of either a lawsuit or criminal prosecution.
The filing noted Twitter had suspended the poster's account "upon learning of the assault," and that Eichenwald won't sue the social media platform over the incident.