Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona, filed a libel lawsuit on Tuesday against The New York Times and a member of its editorial board, seeking $147.5 million in damages for an opinion piece which contained “several false, defamatory factual assertions,” Fox News reported.
The Times op-ed, written by Michelle Cottle and published on Aug. 29, condemned Arpaio for his stance on immigration and referred to him as “a truly sadistic man.”
Titled “Well, at Least Sheriff Joe Isn't Going to Congress,” the column appeared after Arpaio lost in Arizona's Republican primary for the U.S. Senate.
“Cast aside and left to wallow in the knowledge that his moment has passed, he has a fitting end to the public life of a true American villain,” Cottle wrote.
In the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Arpaio said the article was “carefully and maliciously calculated to damage and injure” his reputation and interfered with the ability to secure funding from donors for his intended run for Sen. John McCain’s seat in 2020, which is currently held by Sen. Jon Kyle, Politico reported.
Eileen Murphy, a spokeswoman for the Times, said the newspaper would “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”