Article by Steven Long ~ Editor/Publisher of Horseback Magazine
Allegedly Libels Respected EWA President
“If you have been watching the Horse Slaughter debates, over the years, you will have noticed that when faced with irrefutable facts, figures and science the opposition “Darkside” resorts to profanity, name calling and public melt downs when cornered by the 70% of Americans who oppose their radical views. And it’s okay to throw a few barbs back and forth as it bothers me little when they are aimed at me because I am not only smarter but wiser and stronger and will hurl them back with twice the force. But when these lowlifes publicly attack the well know and benevolent President of the Equine Welfare Alliance, John Holland, who has always been nothing short of polite and courteous in his conversations; well, you have just gone too far.
Wallis and Duquette continue to test the phrase “how low can you stoop” and in so doing, now, run the risk of legal intervention. I, for one, am up to it as “discovery” on these two would be a trip and the entire process would very quickly expose them to the world for what they truly are…and it won’t be pretty for either of them.
Game On!” ~ R.T.
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Holland hugs horse he saved and raised from one week old ~ photo by V. Holland
HOUSTON, (Horseback) – Pro horse processing followers of Wyoming GOP State Rep Sue Wallis demonstrated a woeful ignorance of the nation’s libel laws in Facebook postings on the group’s United Horsemen ”closed” Facebook website the day before Thanksgiving. Among those posting was Dave Duquette, currently listed on the Internet site as the group’s president.
The target was respected anti-slaughter advocate John Holland, president of the Chicago based Equine Welfare Alliance. The Facebook banter began with a posting by Duquette and a photo of Holland hugging a horse. Holland is pictured wearing a slouch hat.
The exchange continued with sophomoric give and take among members until Duquette, a longtime enemy of Holland in the horse slaughter wars, got really nasty.
An exchange ensued on the invitation only Facebook Page. A participant with the unlikely name of Bridger Hake noted in the exchange under Holland’s photo, “Guy is kind of creepy. Maybe he needs some horsemeat in his diet.”
Duquette allegedly raised the conversation to the level of libel using a red flag hot button word reserved for criminal child molesters such as the case currently in the news at Penn State.
Kinda has the petaphile look to him,” Duquette responded to Hake. The meaning was clear, although the United Horsemen president misspelled the word pedophile.
Hake immersed himself into the potential legal soup saying, “I wasn’t going to mention that. Wonder if the guy watches school yards with a spotting scope.”
Holland is a public figure and as such the ability to for him to sue someone for defamation is more difficult than it is for the average person under the landmark Supreme Court ruling, New York Times vs. Sullivan. Yet Duquette and Hanke’s comments may have met the test, legal experts said.
Experts say that to meet the Supreme Court’s definition of libel involving a public figure, a quotation or statement must not only be made up or materially altered. It must also defame the person and damage his or her reputation or livelihood.
Calling a respected person a pedophile when they are not would demonstrate “reckless disregard for the truth,” another requirement for a successful libel suit under Sullivan.
“They are going after me with something made up out of whole cloth,” Holland told Horseback Magazine. “I’m going to talk to my attorney about this.”
Should Holland initiate litigation, it would enable lawyers and litigants for both sides to look at their organization’s inner workings through discovery. In the past, Holland has alleged United Horsemen ran a fraudulent drawing for a truck giveaway, among other things.
In a later post on the same site, Holland is shown petting a horse with two children standing nearby. The two boys are his nephews, he told Horseback. It was the one and only time the children had been close to a horse and is posted on Holland’s personal website.
Hake posted, “Watch out kids he might touch you!”
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Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Well it has been a while since “Bridger Hake” reared his ugly head on a public forum, go get ’em Mr Holland. Give them enough rope and they WILL hang themselves.
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Bridger Hake also used to go under the pseudonym of “The Rounder”. He used to do a lot of bashing in forums and on news articles when I first got involved in the advocacy for our horses about two to three years ago. Hmm think I need to check out some of my old links again.
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to john holland: sue the bastard!!!!
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Pissing contests inevitably end with someone getting wet, let’s hope in this case the horse eaters are drowned.
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That was good, very, very good!
Thanks for the chuckle.
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Well, well…….will the Nation finally realise the character and mentality that we have been up against? I pray so. I pray feverently that a hard core investigation into the UH 501(c) is exposed for being a political lobbying, cash taking organization, all the while slamming publicly with inflammatory and slanderous statements about the rescues across this Nation that are left to clean up their mess. I also pray that the decent folks of Wyoming realize they have been duped, used to line the pockets of self serving individuals who have publicly announced that a company was created that Sue Wallis heads, to endorse, support and stand for the inhumane slaughter of our equine and poisoning of folks across this globe. All done as a representative of their state. Talk about conflicting and self serving interest…… May Holland go after these predatory people with a zest and determination that saves our equine, the global population from toxic meat and this Nation as a wholes reputation for being a civilized society that protects those without a voice! God bless you Holland and we have your back in anyway we possibly can!
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Ignorance is bliss?~ I think it’s too much Bute. Their dribble appears incredibly juvenile ~ there is no logic to their thought processes….they shouldn’t have been allowed to breed!
Mr. Holland, we are behind you 100%!
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The killers throw around the term “pedophile” just as recklessly as they do equines.
The difference is, Mr Holland can fight back if he chooses.
The good news is we have more documentation to prove how reckless, callous and irresponsible the killers are, no matter what happens with libel.
I wonder if Doink will have a good Thanksgiving after this….who cares. I hope all here and across the Nation do. Remember our blessings. We have folks like RT, Terry, John, Craig, Laura, Marjorie, Vicki, et al…..they got Trent Loos, Doink, SS.
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You made your point with this, Denise! I wonder if they had stuffed horse for Thanksgiving Dinner? With Reg-U-Mate sauce and bute on the side.
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I hope John does file litigation against them. Because not only was a fraudulent truck raffle held, but they are listed as a 501c3 with out the designation to have function as an umbrella agency and as such they are limited in the amount of time they can spend lobbying. The entire purpose and existence has been and is to lobby for horse slaughter.
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We’ve been saying it for a while- “Give them enough rope and they’ll hang themselves.” Mission accomplished.
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Just how low can these ‘low lifes’ get? The lower the better as far as I’m concerned, then they can be healed into the ground and back to the hole from whence they came. Scum of the earth.
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I would love to see this woman gagged by a court order. Is that possible? I know that would cost money but I hope someone will do this some day soon!
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Wouldn’t a gag order by heavenly! Then she would have to stop making everyone ELSE gag.
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Absolutely! We have been gagging here for years!
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Well thank you Duquette and your minions–you have shot yourself in the foot this time and opened the door wide open to discovery. Wonder what truly lies in those dark, dank corners.
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Yes, the United Horsemen were at the Arabian Horse Convention last week spewing their lies. The gal representing them forgot the name of the Rep pushing slaughter. She had a funny look on her face when I quickly was able to remind her of the ugly representative from Wyoming. I said to my knowledge she did not own horses now or probably never did, but was in the cattle business. She spouted her lies until the keynote speaker refetted some of her claims. Those supporting our horses were out numbered, but never the less we brought forth the position. I’m sure some people were on the fence and did not want to be in the cross fire. I bet they are all hooked up with the Cattlemens Association. Although something had to be done with the Ag Appropriations bill, I did take the time to call the low lifes who voted against our horses and called the one lone supporter, Sam Farr from California. I agree with all, John should sue the hell out of them. It will be interesting because I did speak with Judy Biggert, who is my Representative from Illinois who I believe is a cosponsor of our current bill. I just want to mention Chris Hyde who is also doing an outstanding job for our horses. He helped us in Illinois and is on top of it all. He is with the Animal Wefare Institute. What most horse people don’t understand is these people are not interested in the welfare of the horses, but how much money they can derive from killing our horses.
However, I am grateful for all that I have including my beautiful Arabian gelding,
Nicholas. I hope all reading this blog today have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
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Classic. One of the “leaders” of the pro slaughter movement cannot even spell his insults correctly. I’m going to have to say that is a pretty clear indicator of why our tax dollars should be spent on education instead of paying for horsemeat inspections…
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People need to realize that yes there is freedom of speech but then there is harassment and slander. This under the statue for libel and slander this falls under criminal slander and yes Holland not only should you sue but also print document and report it! criminal statue state when a knowing participant intentionally creates a false accusation or statement in regards to ruin that persons reputation. This was also altered to suit internet crime and includes all forums. People need to understand that yes you can say what you want but you are personally responsible for what you say. Behind you 100% Holland can probably put you in touch with some attorney’s that would love to represent you!
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To accuse someone of pedophilia is VERY serious. This goes way beyond “name calling”.
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Personally, I hate for John to be in a position where he feels he may need to spend time, energy, and resources dealing with something like this. Most of the time, I would tend to want to ignore personal attacks, but this type of attempt at character assassination is particularly malicious, particularly as it could affect the lives of his grandchildren who are NOT public figures. Unfortunately for these Facebook Friends, they targeted one person, who despite his passion regarding this issue, would not attack these people on a personal level.
These guys are trying to bully John and maybe distract him at a time when he wants to be focusing on other things—exactly what they do not want him to do. They know John iss smart, articulate, and has the strength of character to unite good people, and eventually, we will defeat them. They would love to divide his energies.
I know we know this, but resorting to this type of personal attack is as good as admitting they know they have no case.
I am not sure 501 (c) 3’s are allowed to do any lobbying as individuals who represent the views of the group. It might be that I may be confused with campaigning for particular candidates.
There is some thought that suggests that it is better to ignore some negative publicity because addressing it keeps it alive, particularly when it is not true. But something like the this given the mood of the country and the type of craziness that is out there, this type of allegation could not only defame a person, but lead to his harm.
Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to see John emerge from court holding the deeds to whatever property these guys have plus take possession of their horses, cattle, tractors, trucks, horse trailers, and future earnings. It’s just that it is difficult enough to deal with the ugly reality of horse slaughter, but then I guess if these people cared about the welfare of their fellow humans, the animals they supposedly think they know so much about, or the meat industry they have the gall to accuse equine advocates of trying destroy, we would not be having this conversation.
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I hope these people realize that their slippery slope reasoning (if HSUS stops us from slaughtering horses, the next thing will be that they tell us to stop slaughtering our cows, and if you own even one animal they are going to tell us what to do)runs both ways. Because when I talk with people and we talk about what specific parts of the slaughter process make more inhumane than the slaughter of other animals, you can see the wheels turning as they envision other animals being slaughtered, and they start to comment about how we don’t give much thought to how the animals we eat become food. Not only that, but since a lot of the folks I’ve talked with are already concerned about what is in our food and already doubt the the safety of the food supply and DOA’s ability to properly inspect food, when the public learns that farmers and ranchers in some Western states believe that it is safe to sell bute tainted beef to the American people, they will not go quietly into that good night. There are children in this country who are perfectly healthy, but then one day they start having nose bleeds. It gets worse and worse until the child is constantly having blood transfused hooked up constantly to IVs. No one could convince me after the number of protests these folks have come up with about how bute in horses is not a problem because it’s used in cows, that bute is not in the rod supply that all of us consume.
Furthermore, if these United Horsemen people knew what Dr. Temple Grandin has written about how difficult it is to have the people who actually handle the animals to do so humanely as well as what she has written regarding how extremely different horses are from cows, they could have predicted that she would not endorse the slaughter of horses.
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At the very LEAST, Facebook should ban those that abuse the format.
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FB has threatened to get rid of all the animal welfare groups apparently because of all the in fighting. People have a tendency to say and do more extreme things at FB than they might normally. It has been an eye opening experience for me. The unscrupulous run rampant. The paranoid freak and the soft hearted are gutted in front of others. If you stick with people you know you are OK but we deal with so many we do not know and they do not know us. People not using their real names is on the increase. Maybe it is for that reason. I find it hard to deal with people who do not use their real names and who want to be taken seriously. Of course there are some we get to know because they have stuck around a long time. But I feel at a disadvantage when a person with a made up name becomes critical or aggressive. I feel I cannot take that person seriously and they may have an agenda I also cannot see.
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I certainly understand your point; however, I use part of my mare’s registered name. No agenda other than being for the horses. So I will beg your indulgence with the name I use. And I will continue to fight for the horses.
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You must have a reason for you Nome de plume… Most people here are sincere and those who are not do not last. Funny, when a person uses their name sometimes we still take a long time to get to know them… and mostly through their comments. At FB it is pot luck every day. No offense meant. We are all trying to deal with the same bottom line.
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I agree Louie. I try235! to only friend people I know or who are connected to other people I know. After a few posts, if I don’t like what they are saying or the language they use to say it, I block them. I do have a few former students now in college that I am a little more lenient with the language thing—though most of them are getting past that—they are speaking to their peers and may not even realize that I am still on their friends’ list, but I enjoy hearing about where they are and what they are doing. I understand that sometimes for some of us an expletive just has to come out—however, we have come up with some very creative ways to describe people or situations that are much more satisfying than the standard %^&**!.
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John Holland is loved and respected by all of us in the fight to save our horses from slaughter, to stop the BLM’s continuing annihilation of our wild horses, and to stop the efforts of some USA legislators to bring back horse slaughterhouses to America. He is a true friend of animals and a true friend of all of us who fight to protect them. To take aim upon John with ugly schoolyard language is just one more example of how low these pro-horse slaughter people are. All they want is profit, although some of them do seem to favor dining on horsemeat in the USA. Anyone who attacks John Holland attacks the rest of us, and we stand ready to support him and his exemplary humane record in any way we can.
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Most debate forums have ground rules. The blogs enforce them pretty well, I think.
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Yes, I have good reason to keep myself under the radar. Have been rescuing privately since ’99; have fostered for another equine rescue as well. We run across some real “interesting” people, so it’s best to lay low to keep ourselves and the horses safe.
I am pleased to see the number of genuine horse folks here, doing their best to prevent further cruelty against the horses. I am still learning….thanks.
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There is an ol saying that my Dad use to used when someone was just an total idiot.. such as the Wallis followers are…goes something like this..give someone enough rope and they will hang themselves.. seems to me by this article.. the Wallis bunch are well on their way.. could not happen to a better group.. just hope it happens soon….thanks for the good read….
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