Anti-Clinton DNC Lawsuit Process Server Shawn Lucas Dies-Truth! & Unproven!
Summary of eRumor:
Shawn Lucas died suddenly after serving the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz with an anti-fraud class action lawsuit.
The Truth:
Reports of Shawn Lucas’s death are true, but no details about the cause or manner of his death have been released yet.
The Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department confirmed the death of Lucas, 38, to multiple media outlets. Additionally, Lucas’s family and friends have confirmed on social media that he died suddenly on August 2nd.
Shawn Lucas served the DNC and Debbie Wasserman Shultz with a class action lawsuit that alleges “fraud and other claims” against both parties for colluding with Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign to “perpetrate a fraud on the public” by favoring Clinton. Video of Lucas’s serving papers at the DNC headquarters on July 3rd can be viewed here.
The DNC named Shawn Lucas as one of the process servers in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit for insufficient service. The motion contends that the papers were served to the wrong person at the DNC:
On July 6, 2016, Plaintiffs filed affidavits of service of process, in which Shawn Lucas and Brandon Yoshimura of One Source Process, Inc. claim to have served Rebecca Christopher (described by the affidavits as a “Creative Strategist”) with process for both the DNC and its Chair at 1:30 p.m. on July 1st. See Aff. of Service of Process on DNC (ECF No. 6); Aff. of Service of Process on DNC Chair (ECF No. 7). In fact, the person with whom Mr. Lucas and Mr. Yoshimura interacted was not Ms. Christopher, but a different DNC employee named Rebecca Herries. See Decl. of Rebecca Herries In Support of Mot. to Dismiss (“Herries Decl.”) 1, 2. Ms. Herries is not authorized to accept service of process for the DNC, its Chair in any capacity, or the CEO, for whom she works as a special assistant. Id. 2. Ms. Herries came to the lobby to meet Mr. Lucas and Mr. Yoshimura after she was repeatedly advised by security that Mr. Lucas and Mr. Yoshimura were refusing to leave unless they could hand some legal papers to a DNC staffer. Id. 3, 4. It was Friday afternoon right before the Fourth of July weekend and, after unsuccessfully attempting to contact the DNC’s Chief Operating Officer or anyone in the operations department, Ms. Herries went downstairs to speak with Mr. Lucas and Mr. Yoshimura. ¶ 3. She told them that her name was “Becca” and that she worked for the DNC. Id. 4. They did not ask her for and she did not give them her last name or her title. Id. They similarly did not ask whether she was authorized to accept process for either Defendant, and she did not make any representations to that effect. Id. They handed her the documents and left.
Reports of Lucas’s unexpected death, coupled with his role as a public challenger of both Clinton and the DNC, sparked conspiracy theories among right-wing media outlets.
Zero Hedge (incorrectly) reported that Lucas was the “lead attorney” in the anti-fraud lawsuit. He was actually a process server who worked at Once Source Process in Washington, D.C. The Zero Hedge story, which appeared under the headline, “Lead Attorney in Anti-Clinton DNC Fraud Case Mysteriously Found Dead,” was shared more than 25,000 times within days of being published.
At this point it’s clear that Lucas died unexpectedly and tragically on August 2nd. Beyond that, no details about the cause or manner of his death have been made available, so any theories about his death are unproven.
Lucas’s family and friends have set up a Go Fund Me page that can be viewed here.