Martina Jaureguy La Plata Federal Judge Alberto Recondo has ruled that Argentina’s federal judiciary has jurisdiction over a lawsuit filed against President Javier Milei by the family of an autistic boy whom the president accused of being a political operative on the social network X.
This is the first time the judiciary has ruled that Milei’s posts are presidential, not personal, in nature. It could set a key precedent in the case over the $LIBRA cryptocurrency scam, where the character in which Milei makes social media posts is also at issue, according to the family’s lawyer, Andrés Gil Domínguez.
“Mr President Javier Milei, you still have time to delete the post and apologize,” the lawyer wrote in an X post.
Gil Domínguez said that the federal judiciary established that the case has federal jurisdiction because Milei posted from his account, which has a verified grey checkmark reserved for members of a national government. This, the lawyer said, “directly impacts on the $LIBRA case.”
Other lawyers have recognized the parallels, but urged caution.
The lawsuit was filed by the family of Ian Moche, a 12-year-old autism awareness activist who posts frequently on social media and gives media appearances. He and his parents often meet with politicians from across the political spectrum to express his concerns.
Moche advocated for the recently-approved bill declaring a state of emergency in the disability sector.
On June 1, Milei reposted an X post by a popular Libertarian troll account under the handle @hombregrisxd, accusing journalist Paulino Rodrigues of hosting Moche solely to serve a political operation.“Turns out the boy, Ian Moche, comes from an ultra-Kirchnerist family and had already been used by Massa and Cristina Kirchner,” the post read.
As he shared the message, Milei wrote that Rodrigues was “always on the evil side,” repeated allegations of a political setup, and accused him of siding with Kirchnerism.
The original post was accompanied by images of Moche speaking with Rodrigues, as well as former Economy Minister and Peronist leader Sergio Massa and ex-President Cristina Kirchner.
Milei’s post went viral, and his supporters began to insult Moche, publishing his address and which school he attends.
Moche’s mother, Marlene Spesso, asked the president to take down the post so the harassment would stop. However, the post remained online, and the family decided to file a lawsuit.
“Ian was really hurt for being told he was ‘on the evil side,’ like taking photos was a monstrous thing,” Spesso told AM 750 after filing the lawsuit, describing Milei’s post as “institutional violence.”
Constitutional lawyer Pedro Caminos told the Herald that the ruling does not yet constitute legal precedent, although “it does create a criteria that could be useful for other cases, and it is also a very sensible criteria.”
Judge Recondo’s decision could still be annulled if Milei successfully contests the decision that the federal judiciary has jurisdiction over the case, Caminos added.
“The resolution in itself does not have incidence over other cases, it was taken in this case in particular,” Caminos said. However, he added that the judge’s criteria could be used in other investigations if other judges and prosecutors consider it to be valid.
The $LIBRA case
On February 14, Milei made an X post supporting a cryptocurrency token called $LIBRA, prompting many investors to buy it. It then collapsed and lost all of its value when its developers withdrew between US$80 million and US$100 million less than an hour after creating it.
You may also be interested in: $LIBRA: the timeline of a crypto scandal that’s rocking the Milei government
There are several open cases on the $LIBRA scandal around the world, but not all involve Milei. In Argentina, federal prosecutor Eduardo Taiano charged Milei in February and began investigating his alleged role in the scam for potential crimes such as abuse of power and fraud.
The ongoing investigation also includes those involved in the creation of the token, such as Hayden Mark Davis and Julian Peh, Argentine businessmen Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy, and Presidency Secretary Karina Milei.
Last month, the government’s Anti-corruption Office determined that Milei did not break the public officials’ ethics law. In May, Milei and Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona issued a decree dissolving an investigations unit that had been created by the government to gather information on the case.
In the Lower House, lawmakers created a special commission to investigate the scam. However, the commission cannot move forward without first electing its leaders — a task which has hit a roadblock in the form of a tie between Milei’s supporters and the opposition.
