Jared Lee Loughner, the gunman in the 2011 Arizona shooting that killed six and wounded 13, including former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, is now seeking damages from Giffords for emotional and psychological distress, at least according to a $25 million lawsuit filed in his name.
The lawsuit says Loughner was “hand-picked” to be the assassin and states: “My incarceration is illegal. I am actually innocent. I was framed.” It also claims the government put a chip in his head, that Giffords only pretended to be shot and that she is part of a “global plot to take away our civil liberties.”
Loughner is currently serving time in Rochester, Minn., but this suit was apparently postmarked in Philadelphia, and turned out to be a hoax, The Hill reports.
A disturbed prisoner filed the suit in the U.S. District Court of Arizona last Friday, claiming to be Laughner, and is suspected of being behind another hoax lawsuit in the name of another mass killer.
Loughner reportedly has a history of mental illness, something the judge knew before his sentencing. According to CNN, the judge said, “The evidence clearly shows that he knew what he was doing, despite his mental illness.” He sentenced Loughner to seven consecutive life terms plus 140 years.
The 2011 shooting left Giffords permanently injured, but she has made a pretty impressive recovery and has even hit the campaign trail recently to stump for Hillary Clinton.
“Speaking is hard for me, but come January, I want to say these two words: Madam President,” Giffords said in a recent speech.