Trans Military Pilot Sues Influencer for Defamation Over Reagan Airport Crash​on April 10, 2025 at 2:37 pm

A trans military helicopter pilot says she’s the victim of a right-wing defamatory attack by a popular social media influencer … just minutes after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed into an American Airlines jet … killing all 67 people on board both aircrafts.

Jo Ellis is a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the Virginia Army National Guard claims in a new lawsuit, she was smeared as the pilot involved in the tragic crash. Ellis says Matt Wallace, an influencer with 2.3 million followers, posted her picture and claimed she was the pilot of the doomed Black Hawk, alleging it was a “trans terror attack.”

Wallace claimed Ellis intentionally crashed the chopper into the jet due to her “depression” and “Gender Dysphoria.”

The post went viral, and Ellis claimed Wallace is a “notorious transphobe who knew an anti-transgender narrative would draw significant attention.” She says he picked her because she’s a “transgender Army Black Hawk pilot, who recently learned she might be discharged from the military due to a new Executive Order.”

Once she learned about the post, she posted a “proof of life” video in an attempt to shut down the narrative. She says Wallace then tried to shift the blame to another influencer on X.

Ellis says due to the hate generated by Wallace’s post, she fears for the safety of her family and herself. She says she’s had to hire a security detail and now carries a gun.