Featured Image Credit: Reckless Ben / YouTube
Ben "Reckless Ben" Schneider found himself at the heart of one of the biggest internet controversies of the year when he began investigating allegedly stolen LEGO sets at a Bricks & Minifigs (BAM) store, but that left him the subject of several arrests and an ongoing restraining order lawsuit that's now been moved to federal court in an unexpected turn of events.
While the story itself appeared to reach something of a conclusion following the intervention of investigative YouTuber Stephen "Coffeezilla" Findelsen, who determined that the sets were likely not stolen but instead poorly managed, the difficulties appear to continue for Reckless Ben.
He has been unable to publish the third and final part of his investigation into Bricks & Minifigs after the company launched a lawsuit against the YouTuber and fellow accuser Bryan Mansell, noting that he 'would go to jail' and potentially threaten the GoFundMe fundraiser for Mansell if the third video was posted.
Things appeared to moving towards a positive resolution after both sides appeared to agree on a settlement, but that has since been scrapped after the judge issued a concern, moving the case from state to federal court as a result.
As reported by Dexerto, it was initially proposed by both BAM and the defendants that the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) should be modified and converted into a preliminary injunction, which appeared to open up the possibility of Reckless Ben continuing to comment on the investigation.
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This injunction would still block the YouTuber from issuing threats, doxxing anyone associated with the company, trespassing on associated property, impersonating any individual in connection with BAM, staging confrontations, soliciting leaks, and directly interfering with stores.
However, it includes no mention of anything that would prevent Schneider from discussing the ongoing lawsuit, the plaintiffs, sharing his opinion on the matter, or issuing commentary or investigations on social media.
This appeared to benefit both sides of the lawsuit with the defendants and plaintiffs agreeing on the decision, yet the case's judge, Tony F. Graf Jr., turned down this modified order and pointed out several issues with it that he deemed to be 'very broad'.
What appeared to be the issue was the prevention of Reckless Ben from going within 100 yards of any of the plaintiffs' or franchisees' stores, offices, warehouses, parking areas, employee homes, or franchisee homes, as Judge Graf Jr. indicated that there was no way for Schneider to definitively know whether he would be in breach of this considering the scope it covered.
Following this, the defendants have now filed a Notice of Removal which was subsequently granted, moving the case from Utah state court to the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah.
One thing that's for certain is that this lawsuit is still far from over, and the failed amendment of the TRO suggests that Reckless Ben still won't be able to post the final part of his investigation on YouTube.
Considering the fact that this movement was initiated by Schneider's side, however, it indicates that they believe that progress will be made in their favor by doing so.
The argument for moving it was due to the amount of money involved in the case – which were argued to be greater than $300,000 – alongside the involvement of citizens from different states outside of Utah.
We will await further information coming out of the case as it moves from state to federal level, yet don't expect to see a resolution to the lawsuit or to Reckless Ben's saga any time soon, as everything remains up in the air.
