Professor's #TheyLied Defamation Case Against National Academy of Sciences (Related to Sexual Harassment Allegations) Can Go Forward
A D.C. Circuit court has allowed a defamation case brought by Professor Luis Jaime Castillo Butters against the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to proceed. The case stems from the NAS's decision to rescind Butters's membership following allegations of sexual harassment made by a former student. The court found that Butters adequately alleged that the statements made by the NAS regarding his conduct could be interpreted as defamatory.
- ▪Professor Luis Jaime Castillo Butters's membership in the NAS was rescinded due to allegations of sexual harassment.
- ▪The court ruled that Butters's claims of defamation and false light invasion of privacy could move forward.
- ▪The NAS's statements regarding Butters's conduct were deemed capable of a defamatory meaning.
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Free Speech Professor's #TheyLied Defamation Case Against National Academy of Sciences (Related to Sexual Harassment Allegations) Can Go Forward Eugene Volokh | 5.22.2026 6:56 PM From today's D.C. Circuit decision in Butters v. Nat'l Acad. of Sciences, by Judge Douglas Ginsburg, joined by Judges Karen LeCraft Henderson and Florence Pan: This consolidated appeal involves claims of defamation, defamation by implication, and false light invasion of privacy relating to the rescission of Luis Jaime Castillo Butters's membership in the National Academy of Sciences. Castillo brought these claims against the NAS and its president, Marcia McNutt, after they made statements concerning Castillo's ouster…. Castillo is a professor of archaeology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.
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