An Oklahoma judge has removed the University of New Brunswick as a defendant in a defamation lawsuit filed by a Pennsylvania state senator with ties to U.S. President Donald Trump.
Sen. Doug Mastriano alleged defamation, racketeering, antitrust and other claims against UNB and almost two dozen academics in 2024 over criticism of his academic research into First World War hero Sgt. Alvin York.
The university granted Mastriano a doctorate for his research in 2013.
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Mastriano attracted headlines in 2022 when Trump backed him for Pennsylvania governor during the senator’s unsuccessful campaign in 2022.
In the 2024 lawsuit, Mastriano was seeking millions of dollars in damages, claiming criticism of his research at the university cost him income from tourism-related events, as well as book, media, television and movie deals.
The university successfully argued that it was immune from the jurisdiction of the U.S. district court for the western district of Oklahoma because the school is an “organ of a foreign state.”
Mastriano argued there were numerous exemptions to UNB’s immunity, but the judge disagreed and dismissed the case against the school.
Mastriano and UNB did not immediately responded to requests for comment.
— With files from The Associated Press.
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