Hawaii Federal Court Rules 'Witch' and 'Satan's Soldier' Labels Not Defamatory in Online Dispute Case

Judge Jill Otake of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii issued a ruling on May 22 in Life Mastery Network LLC v. Haygarth, addressing defamation counterclaims in a contentious online dispute. The plaintiff, Liane, who markets herself as a wellness and spiritual thought leader with over 100,000 customers globally, sued defendant Paula Haygarth after Haygarth publicly alleged abuse. Haygarth filed counterclaims based on Instagram posts from the @lianashanti account that called her a 'dark reiki practitioner,' a practitioner of 'black witchcraft,' a 'soldier of satan,' and a 'pedo/pedo supporter.' The court denied summary judgment on the witch and satan-related claims, finding they constituted non-actionable opinion or rhetorical hyperbole, particularly given that both parties operate in spiritual or reiki-adjacent spaces. The court noted there is no objective way to prove whether someone's reiki practice is 'dark,' making such a characterization a matter of opinion rather than verifiable fact. The 'pedo/pedo supporter' claim was treated as a more difficult legal question, with the court's analysis hinging on whether the term was used as rhetorical hyperbole or as a factual accusation. The broader case involves allegations of cult-running, human trafficking, extortion, and fraud, making it an unusually complex defamation dispute.