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A Coast Guard officer has won a defamation lawsuit against his brother after a High Court judge ruled that a series of social-media posts, WhatsApp messages and a phone call to Coast Guard headquarters falsely accused him of threatening to kill his sibling and others.

In a recent ruling, Justice Margaret Mohammed found that the brother, Elijah Christopher Mitchell, a community activist, defamed Jelani Mitchell between December 2020 and April 2021 by publishing repeated allegations on Facebook, in a family WhatsApp group and during a call to senior Coast Guard personnel. The judge ruled that the words conveyed accusations of gun threats, intimidation, extortion and improper conduct over a family land dispute.

Mohammed said the defendant failed to prove any of the accusations were true and found that the posts, some made on an open Facebook profile with wide public reach, were “very serious,” especially given the claimant’s position as an able-bodied seaman and licensed firearm holder with 13 years of service.