Jones & Keller, P.C. attorney Nicole Westbrook is leading the defamation case for Pastor Steve Smothermon, the longtime leader of Legacy Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Smothermon filed a defamation lawsuit against Keith Hodge, Kevin Hodge, and Hodgetwins, LLC, the internet personalities known collectively as the “Hodgetwins,” whose Facebook page reaches more than 6.3 million followers.
According to the complaint, filed October 1, 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada (Smothermon v. Hodge et al., Case No. 2:25-cv-01858), the Hodgetwins published a Facebook post criticizing Cracker Barrel’s 2025 rebranding controversy and its ties to corporate DEI initiatives. The post was intended to target a former Cracker Barrel executive, but the complaint alleges the Hodgetwins mistakenly ran a photo of Pastor Smothermon alongside the criticism, falsely and, the complaint alleges, with actual malice, tying him to positions and causes he has never held.
Pastor Smothermon alleges the mix-up subjected him to significant reputational harm across a massive online audience, and is seeking damages along with a permanent injunction against further publication of the statements.
The defendants are represented by Randazza Legal Group, a Las Vegas firm.
Nicole is leading this matter for Pastor Smothermon as Of Counsel to Jones, Davis & Jackson, P.C., working out of the firm’s Dallas office. Nicole was admitted pro hac vice to the District of Nevada and works alongside Nevada-admitted attorney G. Michael Jackson, based in the firm’s Valencia, California office. This cross-jurisdictional structure reflects the multi-state defamation and reputation-management work Nicole regularly handles for high-profile individuals and public figures whose reputations are put at risk by viral or widely distributed statements.
This case illustrates the kind of high-stakes, high-visibility defamation work Nicole takes on: representing individuals, including executives, physicians, and other public-facing professionals, whose reputations are damaged by false statements distributed at scale on social media. It also highlights the actual malice standard that public figures must meet, and the strategic use of injunctive relief to stop ongoing harm.