Jesus as “public figure” means end of YouTube preacher lawsuit
Jesus as “public figure” means end of YouTube preacher lawsuit
A superior court judge ruled that Jesus Christ is, in fact, a “public figure,” and dismissed a lawsuit filed by a New York man against a Connecticut YouTuber who preaches to his listeners of Christ’s imminent return.
David Diver of Brooklyn, NY, filed lawsuits against Tom and Renae Cote who run the Watchman River YouTube channel, and against Watchman River, claiming Tom’s preaching about the various catastrophes in the world as evidence of the end times caused him “severe emotional distress, anxiety, and mental anguish,” and that Cote “failed to exercise reasonable care” in his apocalyptic predictions.
Diver claimed Cote’s predictions violated Connecticut’s Unfair Trade Practices Act by failing to disclose that his claims were not factual and were made for financial gain. Diver sought an injunction, a retraction and apology to Cote’s audience of 154,000 subscribers, and $75,000 for emotional and psychological distress.
In a previous interview with Inside Investigator, Cote denied that he sells any merchandise and indicated he only has a donation page on his website, and that many people claim his discussions of world events and Christ’s return bring them comfort.
On November 3, 2025, Judge Joseph Shortall dismissed the case, noting that Cote’s speech was protected because Jesus is a public figure and YouTube is a public forum. Cote had argued that Jesus Christ was a public figure, and he was speaking about a matter of public concern and was therefore protected under Connecticut’s 2017 Anti-SLAPP law, which protects individuals against frivolous lawsuits designed to infringe upon free speech.
“The court finds… by a preponderance of evidence that the claims in both actions are based on the exercise of their right of free speech on matters of public concern, that is, issues related to health, community well-being and a public figure; namely Jesus Christ,” Shortall wrote in his decision. “The defendants’ speech was made in a public forum; namely, YouTube and websites open to the public.”
Under Connecticut’s Anti-SLAPP law, individuals speaking on matters of public concern – defined as issues related to health or safety, the environment, economic well-being, government, zoning, regulations, and public figures or officials – can be dismissed under free speech protections, and attorney fees and costs can be levied against the plaintiff.
Diver did not respond to the Cotes’ defense and didn’t show up for court hearings. According to the decision, Diver may be on the hook for the legal costs, which are to be presented to the court in the next few weeks.
Since Inside Investigator first reported on this story in May of 2025, Watchman River’s YouTube following has grown by 15,000 subscribers. In the latest video, Cote discusses the war between Israel and Hamas in the context of Christian eschatology, saying it points to the coming seven-year Tribulation prophesied in various books of the Bible.
This article first appeared on Inside Investigator and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.