FORMER ASSEMBLY CANDIDATE PROPHET WALKER FILES COMPLAINT AGAINST MIKE GIPSON FOR CREATING FALSIFIED IMAGE OF WALKER HOLDING A GUN
Gipson knowingly hired consultant with criminal record of producing illegal mailers
2014 Assembly candidate Prophet Walker filed a complaint yesterday against Assemblyman Mike Gipson for creating and distributing a falsified image of Walker wearing a hoodie and holding a gun.
The complaint maintains that during the 2014 campaign, Gipson deliberately hired a political consultant with a criminal record of producing illegal mailers to create a mailer and web site that both violated the California Election Code and defamed Walker.
Section 20010 of the California Election Code says that a candidate or committee is not allowed to superimpose the image of a candidate for public office onto another image unless “each picture or photograph in the campaign material includes the following statement in the same point size type as the largest point size type used elsewhere in the campaign material: “This picture is not an accurate representation of fact.”
“The mailer produced by Mike Gipson is a clear violation of the California Elections Code and libel laws,” said Bryan Freedman of Freedman + Taitelman, LLP, who is representing Walker. The complaint states that “Gipson ignored statutory election campaign practices” when he hired “a consultant known to have a criminal record of producing false and illegal mailers” in order to “sway the election in his favor.”
The complaint also alleges that by his false and misleading campaign tactics, Gipson caused “great damage to Prophet Walker’s public standing and prospects for employment.”
Below are the images created by Gipson and the original photo of Walker that Gipson used.
The case was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. The complaint asks for unspecified damages from Gipson.
