Sacramento Black Lives Matter founder settles libel lawsuit with video apology

More than two years after a Sacramento-area businesswoman was falsely accused of posting racist and hateful comments on the Facebook page for Sacramento’s Black Lives Matter chapter, her lawsuit against BLM Sacramento has been settled with the group’s founder issuing a public apology.

“She has posted an apology on the Black Lives Matter Facebook page and that’s what I had asked for,” said real estate investor Karra Crowley, who sued BLM and founder Tanya Faison for libel in May 2021. “It’s something you can’t undo, you can’t go out and destroy somebody’s reputation and just think that that’s OK.

“So I’m hoping that by her admitting and acknowledging this she’ll think twice before doing anything like that again.”

Faison attorney Mark Merin confirmed the case had been settled in exchange for Faison removing her original post attacking Crowley and by posting a video apology to her on BLM Sacramento’s Facebook page.

“On behalf of myself and Black Lives Matter Sacramento, I deeply apologize for my reckless behavior and the harm that we caused Ms. Crowley, her family and her business,” Faison said in a 98-second video posted on Facebook.

Faison acknowledged in the video that she should have removed her post about Crowley after Crowley contacted her in 2021 and assured her the messages had not come from her and that she did not hold racist views.

“Nonetheless, I posted on the Facebook website that I had verified Ms. Crowley’s identity,” Faison said. “I posted Ms. Crowley’s city of residence and work and I asked the public to make Ms. Crowley famous.

“Terrible consequences for Ms. Crowley followed, including death threats. Black Lives Matter Sacramento and I were wrong.

“We should have taken the Facebook post down after Ms. Crowley explained to me that she had not sent them.”

Court papers say investigators ultimately determined the original messages had been sent by Robert Leslie Adair, a former tenant who had been evicted by Crowley previously.

The dispute began when someone identifying themselves as “Karra Crowley” sent a message to the BLM Sacramento Facebook page on April 25, 2021, saying, “I am sick and tired of hearing about you guys on the news. You guys are nothing but a bunch of domestic terrorists.

“Crying because you can’t have your way about something. Why don’t you just give up, your never going to be able to change the world. EVER!!!! GROW THE F--- UP. White lives matter !!!!”

Other messages read, “Let’s bring slavery back!!!!” and “White People are kings!!!!”

BLM Sacramento’s Facebook page reacted by asserting that Crowley’s “INFORMATION HAS BEEN VERIFIED.”

“WE KNOW HER BUSINESS ADDRESS WE KNOW HER PO BOX WE KNOW HER AND HER HUSBANDS HOME... SHE HAS BEEN VERIFIED”

The BLM Sacramento posts led to Crowley receiving threats and vulgar messages on her cellphone, her lawsuit said, and Crowley said Thursday that she agreed to settle the case with an apology from Faison because “at the end of the day I wanted it behind me, to say the least.”

Crowley’s lawyer, Jeffrey H. Ochrach, filed a request Thursday in federal court in Sacramento asking that the libel suit be dismissed because the “parties have entered into a court-supervised settlement of the matter.”

Placer Superior Court online records indicate Adair is facing two felony cases involving using a person’s identity unlawfully and writing bad checks.