Jefferson Co. sheriff’s brother sues JeffCo GOP chair, 1819 News

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) - Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway’s brother, Bruce, filed a defamation lawsuit Thursday, Oct. 4, against Jefferson County GOP Chair Christopher Brown and 1819 News, claiming both have done “irreparable damage” to Bruce Pettway’s reputation. The suit claims that damage came when Brown, during a radio interview in March, said Sheriff Pettway’s “brother helps to manage much of these illegal gambling operations,” and says 1819 News repeated the claim in a post about the interview.

Bruce Pettway’s suit claims the defendants knew the claims weren’t true, but says Brown repeated them because he was one of a series of “Republican Party operatives’ intent upon discrediting and maligning his brother, Sheriff Mark Pettway.”

Bruce Pettway’s attorneys say Brown knew the allegation wasn’t true because of a 2019 court case where a federal judge ordered Attorney General Steve Marshall to return $240,000 he had seized from Pettway’s business after asserting they were proceeds from illegal gambling activity. Pettway asked the court to return the money and the district court ruled Pettway’s filing revealed a plausible claim that “the State’s actions against the Plaintiffs were politically or personally motivated, have been procedurally tainted, were all with the intent to harass Plaintiffs, and were all in bad faith.”

Pettway’s attorneys say they served both Brown and 1819 News with cease-and-desist letters demanding retractions, and is now demanding court action and possible punitive damages.

WBRC reached out to the Jefferson County Republican Party, 1819 News Editor-In-Chief Jeff Poor, and Marshall’s office for comment. We will update the story with their responses when we receive them.

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