Butler Campaign Sued For Libel By Primary Opponent Gray

By Benjamin Cox on June 23, 2022 at 1:04pm

A Springfield incumbent to the General Assembly has been sued in Sangamon County Court for libel.

Incumbent State Representative Tim Butler and his campaign have been sued by his primary challenger Kent Gray, according to Sangamon County Circuit Court filings from yesterday.

According to WMAY, Gray has accused the Butler campaign of sending anonymous text messages over the weekend detailing some of Gray’s professional and personal problems, including a one-year suspension of his law license.

The text messages also claimed that Gray was behind in child support payments by $30,000, which Gray says is defamatory, because he actually owes only about one-third of that amount.

WMAY says that although the texts were sent anonymously, Gray says they originated from the same service that has provided text messages for Butler’s campaign.

Butler told WMAY that his campaign had nothing to do with the texts, but otherwise declines to comment on the lawsuit.