Reid Rasner this week sued a seventh person for defamation.
The case filed Sunday in Sweetwater County District Court accuses William Wilkinson of defamation per se, which is a kind of defamation so severe the plaintiff doesn’t have to show how he was damaged by it.
Rasner ran unsuccessfully in 2024 for U.S. Senate, against Sen. John Barrasso, and unsuccessfully once again this August for the U.S. House, taking fifth out of nine candidates vying for the GOP nomination, which Secretary of State Chuck Gray won.
Wilkinson, of Sweetwater County, is a staff representative for United Steelworkers. He won the Wyoming AFL-CIO Labor Leader of the Year award for 2025, according to his LinkedIn and Facebook pages.
But, Wilkinson emphasized in a Tuesday phone interview with Cowboy State Daily, his Facebook page says his opinions are his own, not attributed to any organization.
After learning that Rasner is suing him, Wilkinson told Cowboy State Daily, “Reid Rasner ran a campaign of hatred toward other people and he protects the Epstein class, the pedophiles, and everything that Donald Trump stands for.”
“I think that him attacking citizens for speaking their minds publicly, and their First Amendment right to do so, really shows his true character,” added Wilkinson.
After the defamation per se charge, Rasner’s complaint against also accuses Wilkinson of tortious interference with prospective economic advantage. Rasner says he’s lost financial advice clients after Wilkinson allegedly launched a salacious gossip campaign against him on Facebook.
Thirdly, Rasner accuses Wilkinson of negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Before and after the primary election, Rasner has routinely sued people on claims they call him “pedo” and other slurs online.
He settled one federal case against Michael Cooley, an Iowa dad who publicly apologized for making false statements.
And he continues to wage another federal case against a Missouri-based civil rights attorney, Kevin Baldwin, who allegedly indicated Rasner had been to Epstein island, among other attacks.
In Wyoming state court, Rasner is suing former state lawmakers Anthony Bouchard and Austin “Kit” Jennings, divorced couple Dan Sabrosky and Michelle St. Louis, and now Wilkinson.
All those cases are ongoing.
Because Rasner’s complaint against Bouchard referenced a story that local outlet WyoFile republished – which questioned Rasner’s claims of great wealth – Bouchard asked the court to pull WyoFile into the case to share liability, potentially.
But both parties changed course and Bouchard withdrew that request Aug. 12, letting WyoFile out of the case.
Now, in the Wilkinson case, Rasner’s complaint includes what appear to be screenshots of Wilkinson attacking him via Facebook comments.
“Simmer down with uranything…pedo,” says Wilkinson’s account on a Rasner post about Wyoming’s uranium reserves, according to one screenshot.
Under another post about high federal interest rates, Wilkinson allegedly wrote, “That’s what happens when you support rich pedos.”
Under another about high housing costs, Wilkinson allegedly wrote, “Stay away from the kids pedo.”
Another comment shot shows Wilkinson making a highly sexualized comment under a Rasner post about economic development. And another, showing Wilkinson criticizing Rasner for supporting property tax relief, says “Thanks for supporting defunded emergency services, pedo.”
Other Wilkinson comments as pictured urge people to keep Rasner away from young people.
Rasner’s complaint calls these false, defamatory, and salacious. It asks for damages, both as compensation and to punish Wilkinson’s alleged conduct.
As with Rasner’s other lawsuits, Hawaii-based attorney Bill Fix filed the complaint.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
