Worthington, NAC File Defamation Suit Against MoveOn.Org

NEWTOWN, PA — The Newtown Athletic Club and its owner, Jim Worthington, have filed a defamation suit against MoveOn.org and Gregory Bullough, a Doylestown man who used the website to start an online petition calling on community stakeholders to cut their ties with Worthington's fitness center.

The suit filed in Bucks County alleges that Moveon.org and Bullough "undertook a vicious campaign to injure Worthington and NAC's reputation and business interests by maliciously and falsely accusing Worthington of sponsoring and organizing a group to engage in criminal conduct at the U.S. Capitol," Chris Barron, President of Right Turn Strategies, said in an emailed statement.

“Jim Worthington is a highly regarded entrepreneur who enjoys a tremendous reputation, both locally, nationally and globally, for his successful business interests, including the NAC in Newtown, Bucks County," said Geoffrey Johnson, Worthington's lawyer. "In addition to being renowned as a successful businessperson, Worthington has an outstanding reputation as a philanthropist based on his myriad, longstanding charitable endeavors in the local community, and in recent years, on a national scale."

The petition in question, which is still active and has garnered more than 7,000 signatures, was started by Bullough after he learned that Worthington sponsored three bus loads of people to Washington, D.C., for the Stop The Steal Rally, Jan. 6, which turned violent after some protestors broke away from the demonstration and stormed the U.S. Capitol building in what has become known as the Trump insurrection. Bullough called on schools, medical facilities and charitable organizations to sever their ties with NAC. Several did, including Bucks County Community College.

3000 Sign Petition Against The NAC Following Capitol Riots

Worthington reached out to both MoveOn.org and Bullough requesting that they take down the petition and issue an apology, but both declined, according to Johnson.

Worthington has faced a barrage of criticism in the community for his outspoken support of President Donald Trump, both during and after the 2020 election. His People4Trump organization, which is no longer active, raised nearly $50,000 for the Trump Legal Defense Fund, which sought to overturn an election in which there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

"We had an election two weeks ago on Tuesday and it's still not finished," Worthington told NBC News correspondent Maura Barrett in November. "We have to eventually get to who was the real winner and we have to make sure nobody feels like they were cheated or that it wasn't done properly or fairly. This is not just for this election, but for all elections going forward."

Worthington has maintained that neither he nor those he transported had any involvement in the Trump Insurrection. He later told a right-wing radio station that he was questioned by the FBI about his participation but was cleared by investigators after he provided evidence that he did not partake in the insurrection.

Bullough has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for legal expenses. He calls the lawsuit "meritless."

MoveOn.Org did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Be the first to know what's happening in your town and area. Sign up to get Patch emails and don't miss a minute of local and state news: https://patch.com/subscribe