Judge says Elon Musk engaged in 'little more than state sanctioned intimidation' when he accused a DHS official of a crime

A federal magistrate judge took Elon Musk to task over a statement he made about a fired federal employee.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images A federal judge tore into a February 2025 post Elon Musk made on Twitter about a fired official.

The judge wrote that Musk "clearly intended" to make the official feel "afraid." Judge William Fitzpatrick took issue with what federal officials said about the firing of FEMA CFO Mary Comans.

A federal judge tore into Elon Musk for reposting a photo of a former Federal Emergency Management Agency official and accusing her of "criminal" conduct.

"The fact that Mr.

Musk posted a picture of Ms.

Comans to his millions of followers while falsely characterizing her government service as a 'criminal action' was clearly intended to make her afraid," Federal Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick wrote in a ruling published on Tuesday.

In a blistering eight-page ruling, Fitzpatrick addressed what he described as the reputational damage to Mary Comans, a longtime federal government employee who was fired from her post as chief financial officer of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in February 2025.

Musk's February 11, 2025, post, which was made when he was de facto leader of the White House DOGE Office , "served no legitimate governmental interest and was little more than state sanctioned intimidation," Fitzpatrick wrote.

Fitzpatrick wrote that federal officials knew at the time that it was false to accuse Comans of trying to circumvent President Donald Trump 's executive order that paused federal funding to non-governmental organizations assisting migrants.

Nonetheless, Musk and then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, among others, made statements that Fitzpatrick wrote impugned "the personal and professional integrity of Ms.

Comans," Fitzpatrick wrote.

"For reasons unfathomable to this Court, officials chose to turn the power of the federal government against a singular employee with an impeccable record of public service," Fitzpatrick wrote.

"In short, Ms.