US judge sanctions pro se influencer for insulting opposing counsel, ignoring court orders

Published Jul 28, 04:49 PM UTC

U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz of the Southern District of Florida issued a sanctions order against pro se defendant Charles A. Peralo, a social media influencer with millions of followers, in the case Copycat Legal PLLC v. Peralo. The court found that Peralo repeatedly ignored court orders, failed to file a required answer, refused to participate in drafting a joint scheduling report despite 13 email follow-ups, and sent insulting and vulgar emails to opposing counsel, including calling them a 'fat f**cking loser' and a 'dancing monkey.' Peralo also boasted about using ChatGPT to draft legal filings and threatened to send a bag of dog feces to the plaintiffs' office. The court ordered Peralo to pay $1,000 into the court's sanction fund by August 14, 2026, and warned that further misconduct would result in more severe sanctions. The underlying dispute involves a libel case stemming from a copyright infringement claim.