ASHEVILLE - A federal libel lawsuit against James O'Keefe, a conservative activist known for deceptive "guerrilla journalism" tactics used against media organizations and left-leaning groups, is heading to court here.

The lawsuit is being brought by a disabled Asheville woman who drew national attention after police said she was assaulted outside a 2016 Donald Trump campaign rally at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Motions in the suit, including a one for summary judgement by O'Keefe, will be heard March 19 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina Asheville Division under Judge Martin Reidinger.

Alleges O'Keefe made deceptive video

In the lawsuit, filed Sept. 14, 2017, Shirley Teter said O'Keefe and Project Veritas made deceptive claims in a video, saying she was acting as a Democratic operative at the rally.

Teter said she came to fear for her and her family's safety after threatening messages were left online with the video.

"Some, in direct response to defendants' defamatory statements publicly threatened her life," the suit says, citing one comment posted under the name TheSquidPro which read, "F*****g cut this human garbage's oxygen already."

Teter, who was 69 at the time of the incident in September 2016, carried an oxygen tank that she said was needed to treat her Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Her attorney, Ralph Streza, declined to comment on the case.

A spokesperson for Project Veritas could not be reached for comment on March 15.

O'Keefe: Responded to suit with video

In a 2017 video and statement posted on the Project Veritas website, O'Keefe said Teter should not be suing them because the claim that she was a planted agitator came from Americans United for Change consultant Scott Foval, who was listed as portrayed in the video.

"We didn't say things things about Shirley Teter. Scott Foval did," O'Keefe said.

The Trump rally video, which alleges efforts by high-level party activists to incite conflicts at those rallies, shows a man identified as Foval saying, "she was one of our activists."

The man, however, does not say the "she" is Teter.

Teter's suit alleges O'Keefe and Project Veritas used editing to deceive viewers into believing that is what he meant.

What is Project Veritas?

O'Keefe is best known for taking down the community organizing group ACORN. His group's tactics, which O'Keefe has called "guerrilla journalism," have included hidden cameras and false identities. In 2010, he was arrested along with three others after entering the office of a Democratic senator whdressed as telephone workers. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of unlawfully entering federal property.

► More on Project Veritas: Group embeds itself with Democratic campaigns in 2018 midterms

In 2017, the Washington Post reported a woman who worked for Project Veritas went to the Post's offices and claimed erroneously she had been impregnated as a teenager by Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore. The Post said it was an attempt to plant a false story.

Along with Teter's suit, Projtect Veritas was facing several other legal actions, O'Keefe said in the 2017 video. That was proof the group had touched a nerve, he said.

"You don’t get this flak unless you are over the target."

In March, O'Keefe spoke on the main stage of the Conservative Political Action Conference, whose main draw was a two-hour speech by Trump.

Libel can be hard to prove

In general, the law is weighted toward free speech with civil cases such as Teter's. That can make libel hard to prove, said Pamella Seay, a law professor at Florida Gulf Coast University.

"First Amendment protections for free speech are broad, particularly when dealing with the media," she said.

That could raise the question of whether Project Veritas is the "media" — "or when a political organization becomes a media outlet for purposes of the special protections," she said.

A judge would likely land on extending the protections to Project Veritas, Seay said, "however, the discussion ought to be interesting."

Much of the case may hinge on trying determine whether the comments in the video were — or weren't — actually about Teter. That could mean obtaining any unedited video and interviewing people who spoke on both sides of the camera.

If it's shown that the comments weren't actually about Teter, her attorneys then would have to convince the court O'Keefe meant to be deceptive and that the error wasn't a reasonable mistake. The level of proof for Teter would be raised even higher if the judge determines she was a public figure at the time. Both parties have disagreed over that point.

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Asheville Trump rally attendee sues protester, WLOS-TV for libel

Alleged assault

Teter gained national attention after a chaotic scene following the Sept. 12, 2016, Trump rally downtown.

Rally attendees exited through a gantlet of jeering protesters. Teter, who lived in an apartment building nearby, said she walked to the U.S. Cellular Center carrying her oxygen tank.

She said she joined the crowd, telling rally goers, "You better learn to speak Russian."

What happened next was disputed. Teter said a man, Richard Campbell of South Carolina, turned and punched her in the jaw, knocking her to the ground. Some witnesses said the same. Other witnesses said Teter touched the man, but she said she did not.

An attorney representing Campbell said he had poor vision and was being led out of the rally by his wife. He only turned to brush off Teter after she touched his back, that attorney said.

Police did not initially charge Campbell, but later arrested him for assault on a female. It was one of several criminal charges stemming from that day against rally goers and protesters.

A month after the rally, Project Veritas released the video, fanning debate over the incident.

On April 21, 2017, prosecutors dismissed the charge against Campbell. The next month he sued both Teter and television station WLOS in federal court, alleging Teter had assaulted him and committed libel and that the station's reporters had slandered him and were negligent. Teter counter-sued.

The suits were voluntarily dismissed.