Virginia Army National Guard helicopter pilot Jo Ellis awoke on January 31st to text messages from friends who believed she was dead. Tens of thousands of people online were posting about her, and a reporter even called her cell phone.
Confused, Ellis searched her name online and discovered why. According to a new lawsuit, right-wing influencer Matt Wallace had falsely identified Ellis, who is transgender, as the pilot responsible for the deadly mid-air collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet on January 29th. The horrific crash over Washington D.C. killed all 64 passengers and crew on the commercial aircraft and the three people aboard the helicopter, and Wallace’s baseless claims spread rapidly online, generating thousands of posts.
Wallace, who has over two million followers on X (formerly Twitter), included multiple photos of Ellis in her military uniform alongside posts labeling the aircraft collision a “trans terrorist attack.”
Ellis ultimately filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Wallace, who resides in Colorado, over the false posts. The complaint, filed in federal court, alleges that Wallace “decided to capitalize on this tragic event for clicks and for money,” and “knew that an anti-transgender narrative would garner significant attention.” Ellis says her life has been upended by the false accusations and hopes the lawsuit will serve as a warning for online personalities to “think twice” before spreading misinformation.
“It was just so absurd,” Ellis told The Washington Post in an interview on Thursday. “I couldn’t understand why they thought I was the pilot.”
As the unfounded claims spiraled out of control, Ellis posted a “proof of life” video on her Facebook late on January 31st, making it clear that she was alive and that the claims linking her to the aircraft collision were false.
The Washington Post reached out to Wallace for comment on Thursday but did not receive an immediate response. Online court records do not yet list an attorney for him.
After Ellis posted her proof of life video, Wallace claimed in social media posts that another account on X had “apparently first” posted about Ellis.
Meanwhile, in the immediate aftermath of the aircraft collision, as rescue crews recovered bodies from the Potomac River, scores of people took to social media to spread speculative rumors about the cause before any official announcements from authorities.
Even the individual holding the office of president at the time weighed in. The day after the crash, January 30th, during a White House press briefing, he baselessly suggested the crash was the result of the Federal Aviation Administration’s diversity programs and hiring practices.
That same day, the rumors began to implicate Ellis.
Ellis enlisted in the Army National Guard as a helicopter mechanic in 2009. She deployed to Iraq in 2011 and Kuwait in 2016, and in 2020, she became a pilot of a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.
Throughout her military service, Ellis experienced symptoms of gender dysphoria, the distress caused by a mismatch between a person’s assigned sex at birth and their gender identity. She decided to begin transitioning in 2023 and started hormone therapy.
Ellis had kept this experience private until she published an essay on January 28th about her experience in the military and her decision to come out to her unit and live openly as a woman. She also appeared on a podcast that was released the following day.
Ellis said she wanted to “show people what type of person could be kicked out of the military just for being transgender” as the administration at the time moved to ban transgender people from serving in the military.
That night, an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet collided over the frigid Potomac River.
Hours later, Wallace began posting about it.
According to the complaint, he suggested the collision was not an accident and that an article about it had been written before it happened. He then continued to post about Ellis, falsely linking her to the crash by highlighting the podcast episode she appeared on and directing his followers to “listen before it gets taken down.”
After seeing how widely the rumors had spread, Ellis created the “proof of life” video.
“Trying to attach this to any kind of political agenda is disrespectful to the families,” Ellis said in the video. “They don’t deserve that, and neither do I. I just want you all to know that I’m alive and well, and hopefully this will put all the rumors to rest.”
Wallace then deleted his posts and published new ones, including one, according to the complaint, that mentioned Ellis was still alive while misgendering her.
The complaint describes Wallace as “scrambling now that the walls are closing in.”
Following Wallace’s posts, Ellis has been subjected to harassment and death threats. She has begun carrying a firearm for protection and hired a security detail.
She knows she is not alone in being caught in the crosshairs of intense online vitriol fueled by individuals with massive followings.
“It’s really hard to fight back,” Ellis said, “and I had a unique opportunity to do so.”
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