Ex-CEO Sues Parler Over 'Arrogant Theft,' Claims Site Was 'Hijacked'

The co-founder and former CEO of Parler has sued the conservative social media platform over his firing this year. John Matze claims Parler's leadership took away his 40% stake in the company in an "arrogant theft," intimidated and bullied him in an ouster he says was illegal and left him owed millions of dollars.

The lawsuit adds to the troubles that the conservative social media site has had since the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, which pro-Trump rioters had discussed on Parler. Shortly after the violence, Amazon Web Services refused to continue hosting Parler, and the site went dark. It has since come back online but is not yet fully functional.

Matze lost his job after quarreling with Rebekah Mercer, the conservative megadonor who bankrolled Parler. He says Mercer resisted developing policies to crack down on posts about the QAnon conspiracy theory, neo-Nazism, violence and domestic terrorism. Mercer is named as a defendant in the suit.