Louis Farrakhan

Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam sued the ADL, Jonathan Greenblatt, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Abraham Cooper, contesting, among other matters, their characterisation as antisemitic and alleging First Amendment violations. The federal court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the entire complaint in April 2024. The Second Circuit upheld the dismissal in January 2025 and the Supreme Court declined to hear the case in October 2025.

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Protagonist is the complainant

Farrakhan repeatedly urged Black audiences to reject Covid-19 vaccines, portraying them as a possible depopulation operation, toxic substances or 'death itself'. Later speeches continued to link vaccination to a plan targeting Black populations.

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In his nearly three-hour speech entitled 'The Criterion', Farrakhan called certain Jews and ADL leader Jonathan Greenblatt 'Satan' and repeated several collective accusations and conspiracy theories about Jews, Israel and political power.

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In several speeches and posts between 2017 and 2019, Farrakhan repeated theories of Jewish control, attributed sexual and entertainment practices to Talmudic or Jewish influence and, in October 2018, responded to accusations of antisemitism with the expression 'anti-termite'. Facebook removed the corresponding video for breaching its hate speech policies.

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Facebook announced Louis Farrakhan's permanent exclusion from Facebook and Instagram under its policies on people and organisations deemed 'dangerous'. The company cited its rules concerning hatred and dangerous individuals.

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In a letter addressed to the ADL and several Jewish organisations, among others, Farrakhan repeated allegations about the historical role of Jews in slavery and the oppression of Black people and warned that opposition to his work would lead, in his view, to 'disgrace and ruin' and the destruction of their power and influence.

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Following Malcolm X's break with the Nation of Islam, Farrakhan participated in a public campaign denouncing him. In 2000, speaking to Attallah Shabazz in a CBS interview, Farrakhan acknowledged that his own words might have contributed to the atmosphere preceding the assassination and expressed regret.

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After an international tour including Libya, Iran, Iraq and Sudan, Farrakhan confirmed a funding pledge from Muammar Gaddafi and applied for permission to accept a $1 billion donation and an award carrying $250,000. The US Treasury refused authorisation under the sanctions regime against Libya.

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Protagonist is the complainant

In a June 1984 speech, Farrakhan associated the State of Israel with injustice, lies and theft and used the expression 'dirty religion'. He subsequently repeated and defended this formulation, drawing considerable political and religious condemnation.

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After Washington Post journalist Milton Coleman revealed Jesse Jackson's 'Hymie/Hymietown' remarks, Farrakhan denounced Coleman on the radio and said he would one day be 'punished by death'. Several weeks later, Farrakhan telephoned Coleman to say he had never intended to threaten his life or that of his family.

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Amid the controversies of 1984, Farrakhan said Hitler had been a 'very great man', referring to Germany's reconstruction. When questioned later, he added that Hitler had also been 'wicked' and reformulated his assessment as 'wickedly great'.

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Directly implicated