Virginia Minister Files $544 Million Lawsuit Against Google for 16 Years of Religious Discrimination

 

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Virginia Minister Files $544 Million Lawsuit Against Google for 16 Years of Religious Discrimination 

First Major Civil Rights Challenge to Adjudicated Illegal Monopolist's Systematic Suppression of Biblical Content 

Harrisonburg, VA – August 25, 2025 – Virginia biblical minister Thomas Richards filed a landmark $544 million federal lawsuit against Google LLC on Friday, alleging the tech giant systematically suppressed his religious content for over 16 years while providing preferential treatment to Catholic institutional perspectives through an exclusive Vatican partnership. 

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, represents the first comprehensive legal challenge combining antitrust violations with constitutional claims against Google following federal court rulings in 2024 and 2025 that found the company operates as an illegal monopolist. 

"Google weaponized its search monopoly to silence biblical viewpoints while amplifying competing Vatican perspectives," Richards said. "This systematic discrimination violates both antitrust law and the First Amendment, and I won't stand by while they censor the Gospel message which I have been given by God through Jesus Christ (Θεός through Ἰησοῦς Χριστός)."[1] 

Richards, founder of SpirituallySmart.com, traces his Virginia ancestry to Joseph Bridger I, one of the Commonwealth's most prominent early colonial leaders who served in the House of Burgesses. Despite never attending college, Richards taught himself web development and biblical Greek to further his ministry after experiencing a profound, completely unexpected spiritual conversion in 1997. 

The lawsuit details how Google's suppression began immediately after The Independent newspaper highlighted Richards' Vatican-critical content as the second-most prominent result for "Vatican" searches on YouTube in 2009 and stating that the Vatican had created a YouTube channel to “fight back”.[2] Yet Google began an exclusive partnership with the Vatican in 2009—the only religious institution to receive such preferential treatment in Google's history.. Following this media attention, Richards' website traffic plummeted from nearly 1,000 daily visitors to virtually zero despite maintaining high-quality biblical content. 

"They targeted me because my biblical research exposed institutional corruption," Richards explained. "Google made a deal with the Vatican in 2009 and has been burying my work ever since." 

Key allegations include: 

• Google's exclusive 2009 Vatican YouTube partnership—the only religious institution to receive such preferential treatment in Google's history 
• Systematic manipulation of search results and Google Alerts to obscure Richards' 25-year digital ministry 
• Implementation of "artificial technical limitations" that federal courts found violate antitrust law 
• Coordination between Vatican "algorethics" frameworks and federal AI policy mandates 

The complaint cites federal court findings that Google "substantially harmed Google's publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web" through monopolistic conduct that mirrors the discrimination Richards experienced. 

Richards seeks $544 million in damages based on lost ministry opportunities, speaking engagements, and publishing revenue over the 16-year suppression period, plus injunctive relief to end Google's systematic religious discrimination. 

"This case is about more than one minister's rights," Richards said. "It's about preventing illegal monopolists from determining which religious voices Americans can hear. Every person who's been shadowbanned needs to understand: we can fight back." 

The case raises significant questions about the intersection of antitrust law, religious liberty, and government coordination with tech platforms in the digital age. 

Richards is represented by attorney Lisa Weingarten Richards of LWR Law Offices. 

Case: Richards v. Google LLC, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia 

Contact:  

Thomas Richards – tlthe5th@pm.me, @tlthe5th on X, case chatbot at google-lawsuit.com
Lisa Weingarten Richards, Esq. – LWR Law Offices – lwr@lwrlawoffices.com 

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[1] About Biblical Greek: The New Testament was originally written in Koine Greek (κοινὴ διάλεκτος - koinē dialektos), the common language of the first-century Mediterranean world. Greek served as the vessel through which God (Θεός - Theos) chose to preserve His Word (λόγος - logos) for all nations (ἔθνη - ethnē). The Greek alphabet, from which our English letters derive (Alpha/Ἄλφα to A, Beta/Βῆτα to B, etc.), carries the foundational structure that underlies many modern alphabets. Understanding these original Greek terms connects readers directly to the precise meanings God intended in Scripture (γραφή - graphē), revealing layers of truth (ἀλήθεια - alētheia) that translation alone cannot fully convey. All δόξα (doxa - glory) goes to Θεός (Theos) through Ἰησοῦς Χριστός (Iēsous Christos) for preserving His Word in its original form for accurate understanding. 

[2] The Independent, "Vatican launches YouTube channel," available at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vatican-launches-youtube-channel-1514238.html.