A candidate for Saline County sheriff is suing seven people for defaming him on social media in an attempt to prevent his election to office.
Richard Friend, who is the chief of police in England, is in a runoff for the Saline County sheriff’s position. He filed suit on March 10 in Saline County Circuit Court against Kevin Cooper, Rick Cross and “John Does 1-5,” saying they falsely accused him of corruption, theft and abuse of authority, among other crimes, and that the two men made the social media posts just prior to the start of early voting in the March 3 preferential primary to try to defeat him.
“This case arises from a calculated and malicious attack on the reputation of a candidate for public office during the final days of a contested election,” the lawsuit says.
Cooper, who was beaten in the Republican primary race for the Hot Spring County sheriff, posted on Facebook a video of more than 50 minutes that contains repeated accusations of criminal conduct, according to the complaint. In one instance, Cooper “falsely stated that Plaintiff dismissed misdemeanor marijuana charges for young college girls in exchange for sexual favors,” according to the lawsuit. In another, Cooper “claimed that Plaintiff stole property during the execution of search warrants, misused county property, abused official authority, and engaged in conduct that should have resulted in his arrest and decertification as a law enforcement officer.”
“Despite the complete absence of evidence, Defendant Cooper nevertheless presented these serious false accusations of criminal misconduct to the public as factual statements,” stated the lawsuit, which was filed by Jennifer Lancaster, a Benton lawyer who in 2024 was drummed out of a Republican party leadership position in Saline County.
Cross, who lives in Saline County, according to the complaint, posted on Facebook that there had been two orders of protection filed against Friend, saying the orders involved violence against women and represented a “pattern of behavior.”
Friend’s lawsuit said there had been one order of protection against him and that it had been vacated. According to online court documents, that protective order was filed in 2014 by Friend’s wife, but the case was dismissed for lack of evidence.
Cross has since retracted his claim.
“I am issuing this statement to formally retract and clarify prior public statements I made regarding Orders of Protection referenced in a social media post,” Cross’ Facebook post stated. “After conducting additional due diligence and obtaining official records directly from the appropriate circuit court, it was determined that one of the two Orders of Protection referenced was not backed by court records and is not associated with James Richard Friend. Any implication or suggestion that this particular matter applied to him is hereby withdrawn.”
On Cross’ social media page, however, he pushes back on Friend’s lawsuit against him. “I’m being sued by Richard Friend for exercising my first amendment rights,” he wrote.
Rick Cross, shown here in a photo on his Facebook page, has been sued by a candidate for Saline County sheriff. Credit: Rick Cross’ Facebook page
Cooper also defended his posts. “Filing a frivolous lawsuit to suppress citizens’ freedom of speech is, in my opinion, unconstitutional, particularly when done in an attempt to avoid public scrutiny of misconduct prior to a runoff election,” he stated on Facebook.
Friend said by phone on Tuesday that he had been the police chief in England for about two years but that he lives in Saline County. Friend said he had tried to avoid a lawsuit but had been unable to resolve the matter.
“People have a right to their opinions,” Friend said. “They can say they don’t like you or like someone else more. But they don’t have a right to accuse you of criminal activity and present it as fact and spread it out there to undermine an election. Unfortunately, hate and lies travel a lot faster than the truth.”
The unnamed individuals in the lawsuit, Friend alleges, “provided false information to the Defendants, edited the video or amplified its distribution” to Saline County voters “knowing its falsity.”
The complaint asks for $250,000 in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages.
Friend was in a four-person race for sheriff, and will now face Dustin Robertson, who is supported by Cooper and Cross, according to their social media pages. Robertson is chief deputy in the sheriff’s office. No Democrat filed for the seat.
Early voting starts March 24, with the election on March 31. The current Saline County sheriff, Rodney White, did not seek reelection but instead ran for the Republican nomination for state Senate District 16 seat, vacated by Sen. Kim Hammer, who is running for secretary of state. White won the nomination and will face Democrat Joshua Irby in November.
