‘Planet Hank’ sues AG Clark over AI video investigation
Vermont’s law targeting deceptive political ads is facing its first legal challenge from the man who posted an AI-generated video of Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vermont).
Hank Poitras, who gained notoriety for filming his arrest in Brattleboro and posting it online under the nickname “Planet Hank,” has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Vermont’s synthetic media disclosure law is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by attorney Brady Tensing, a former deputy leader of the Vermont Republican Party, focuses on responding to a June 7 video posted by Poitras on his social media accounts.
The AI-generated video mocks Balint while promoting one of her Republican challengers, Westminster lumberjack Mark Coester. The video shows Mr. Balint making arrogant remarks and includes Mr. Koester scooping up a lawmaker with a yunbo and dropping him into a trash can.
On June 12, Poitras received a letter from Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark’s (D) office informing her that she was being investigated for violating Vermont’s new synthetic media disclosure law.
The law, passed in March, requires the public to disclose that political attack ads run within 90 days after an election are generated by AI if they promote “materially false information.” The law exempts satire and parody.
The AG’s office’s letter to Poitras was a civil investigative request to compel disclosure of documents at the beginning of the investigation. They are trying to determine whether Poitras personally created the video, what AI tools were used, what prompts were entered, whether it was intended to appear realistic, and whether anyone else was involved in its creation.
The letter also states that Poitras may face criminal charges over the video. But he said if he incorporates the required disclosures and brings the video into compliance, the AG’s office will likely withdraw from the investigation. The agency gave Poitras until July 10 to respond.
Mr. Clark is the only defendant. Her chief of staff told Seven Days that she could not comment because she had not yet served time in prison.
The lawsuit seeks monetary damages and asks a judge to grant a preliminary injunction blocking further investigation by Clark’s office. Poitras, a disabled veteran who served in Iraq, “has critical views of incumbent politicians in Vermont and has utilized artificial intelligence and other digital tools to lampoon and criticize such politicians,” the complaint says. “He’s going to continue to do that going forward, especially during election season.”
The lawsuit alleges that Poitras’ Balint video is exempt from Vermont’s AI law because it is clearly satirical.
“No one other than a young child or an unusually gullible person would believe that the video showing Mr. Balint, wearing a French beret, being pulled into a dumpster is real,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit argues more broadly that the law itself is problematic and violates Vermonters’ First Amendment right to criticize their elected officials.
Content-based speech restrictions typically pass constitutional review only if they are narrowly tailored to advance a compelling government interest. The complaint argues that Vermont’s law fails that test because it is too broad and provides scant detail on what constitutes reputational harm. The lawsuit also questions whether the law also applies to videos promoting truthful but unflattering statements about candidates.
“The remedy for false or misleading speech is more speech, not forced silence, and the government has no legitimate interest in appointing itself the arbiter of political truth,” the complaint states.
Lawmakers said free speech concerns were a top priority when drafting Act 75. That’s why the law requires disclosure of content, rather than banning it, they said.
The lawsuit argues that giving the AG the power to investigate potential violations of the law and threaten criminal prosecution has a de facto chilling effect. As a result of the investigation, Poitras was forced to hire a lawyer and consider self-censorship to avoid prosecution, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit also targets Clark personally, accusing him of using his position of power to suppress political speech critical of his political allies. Clark argues that she appears to want to protect her favorite candidate from “unparalleled political speech,” as evidenced by the fact that none of her office’s questions to Poitras mention Koester.
“Who’s to say that Mr. Koster wasn’t portrayed negatively in the video that showed him jumping into an excavator and violently scooping up and dumping a woman half his size wearing a beret?” the lawsuit asks.
Mr. Koester didn’t seem too concerned about his reputation when he said: seven days Last month, he said he thought the video was funny.
