Man who believes Challenger astronauts are still alive sues Brevard County over free speech
EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the comments Harvey made at the May 21 County Commission meeting. His comments were limited to assertions that at least some of the astronauts killed in the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explosion are still alive. This story has been edited to correct the substance of Harvey’s comments.
A man who believes the astronauts killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy in 1986 are alive and well, is suing Brevard County government over free speech issues after being removed from a county meeting earlier this year. The suit filed last week contends that the Board of County Commissioners violated Justin Harvey’s right to speak at a public meeting after a contentious meeting on May 21 saw Harvey escorted from the county government chambers by deputies.
The lawsuit claims that Harvey faced “viewpoint discrimination” for his removal from the meeting and violated its own policy around “respecting minority opinions” during public meetings because the commission disagreed with his opinion that the Challenger astronauts are still alive. The lawsuit asks for nominal damages under Florida statute to cover his attorney’s fees and an order declaring the Commission’s actions unlawful.
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The county’s policy is not to comment on pending litigation, said county spokesman Don Walker when asked about the suit.
County officials, though, said at the time that the commission’s policy limits public comments to items under the commission’s control. Since the county has no oversight over NASA, they said, they were not obligated to allow Harvey to speak.
Harvey has appeared before the commission at least twice.
In April 2023, he used his time to imply that the International Space Station was not real and that NASA was perpetuating a hoax. He was allowed to speak and the commissioners made no comment.
During the May meeting, Harvey claimed that at least some of the astronauts killed in the Challenger explosion in 1986 were still alive.
After he began, Harvey was told by Commission Chair Jason Steel and the county attorney Morris Richardson that his public comments should be constrained to addressing county business and matters over which the county has jurisdiction. Harvey asserted that Kennedy Space Center and NASA being located within Brevard County was enough to make the issue relevant, although Richardson contended the county had no power over federal agencies.
When Harvey asked if he could finish his presentation, Steele told him no.
“Thank you for taking away my freedom of speech today,” Harvey told Steele.
Steele then asked a deputy to escort Harvey from the room.
Harvey’s videos on TikTok regularly receive thousands of views and a one edited together from his public comment at a Commission meeting currently has 1.8 million views as of August 1. His profile on the short-form video sharing social media website is populated with videos questioning whether the earth is actually round and asserting that NASA is fake.
Tyler Vazquez is the Brevard County and North Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-480-0854 or tvazquez@floridatoday.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Man who believes Challenger astronauts are still alive sues Brevard County over free speech
