MPD’s Katie Blackwell to pay $75K in attorneys’ fees, admit judge’s order is true after failed defamation lawsuit
"Katie Blackwell claimed all she wanted was justice. However, we got justice. She got an invoice," said defense attorney Chris Madel.
Assistant Chief of Police Katie Blackwell filed a defamation lawsuit against Alpha News, reporter Liz Collin, Dr. JC Chaix, and others in October 2024, which was recently dismissed.
Blackwell has now agreed to pay $75,000 to cover the attorneys’ fees incurred by the defendants, including Alpha News, who were represented by the law firm Madel PA.
In response to dismissal and the agreement, defense attorney Chris Madel said, “Katie Blackwell claimed all she wanted was justice. However, we got justice. She got an invoice.”
Madel explained that the attorneys’ fees were considerably higher. Under Minnesota’s Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, otherwise known as UPEPA, the defendants—including Alpha News—could have sought the entirety of their attorneys’ fees since Blackwell’s claims were dismissed.
However, out of respect for Blackwell’s service in law enforcement and the National Guard, the attorneys with Madel PA and the defendants were willing to accept the lesser amount that Blackwell agreed to pay.
In filing her defamation lawsuit, Blackwell claimed that she was “a respected member of the Minneapolis Police Department who was maliciously defamed with respect to her performance of the duties of her employment and profession … .”
Blackwell also claimed that the defendants—Alpha News, Collin, and Dr. Chaix—are “extremists who are more interested in shaping a narrative and provoking outrage than in communicating any version of truth” in producing Collin’s book “They’re Lying” and the documentary “The Fall of Minneapolis.”
The book and the documentary focus on the arrest and death of George Floyd and include excerpts of Blackwell’s testimony during the state trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of murder in Floyd’s death.
Reactions to Blackwell’s settlement
After hearing about the agreement, Dr. Chaix, a defendant and the writer and director of “The Fall of Minneapolis,” said, “Blackwell and her lawyers made more than a few outrageous claims, but labelling Liz and I as ‘extremists’ was completely unnecessary—and completely unprofessional. If her case had any merit, there’d be no need for name calling. But that’s just the state of leadership and lawfare these days, I suppose.”
As the proceedings unfolded, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara praised Blackwell and her courage and leadership on more than a few occasions. Chief O’Hara even offered literary and film criticism about Collin’s book and documentary and her attempts to “rewrite” history.
Liz Collin sits with attorneys Jennifer M. Robbins and Thomas J. Knecht in court in February. (Credit: Cedric Hohnstadt)
After hearing that Blackwell agreed to the settlement, Collin remarked, “There’s a reason why my book is titled ‘They’re Lying…‘ and I hope the judge’s order to dismiss Blackwell’s lawsuit—and her agreement to this settlement—will add some credence to what I’ve been saying, and what I’ve been trying to help others realize all along.”