Pelosi campaign pays Illinois man $7,500 after he sued over 'invasive and harassing' fundraising texts

• An Illinois man sued Nancy Pelosi's campaign for more than $31,500 over unwanted fundraising texts.
• The campaign appears to have settled with the man out of court, paying him $7,500.
• The man accused the former speaker of the House's campaign of violating anti-robocalling laws.

An Illinois man is now $7,500 richer after accusing Nancy Pelosi of violating federal robocalling laws.

In October 2022, a Bolingbrook, Illinois resident named Jorge Rojas filed a 13-page lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois that accused the former speaker of the House and her campaign of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991.

That law, which has been found to apply to text messages in addition to calls, applies restrictions to robocalling and requires telemarketers not to contact individuals who've placed themselves on the Do Not Call Registry.

"As the Supreme Court has explained, Americans passionately disagree about many things," reads the introduction of Rojas's complaint. "But they are largely united in their disdain for robocalls."

According to the suit, Rojas received 21 texts from Pelosi's campaign from November 2021 to July 2022 despite previously placing himself on the registry in 2008 to "obtain solitude from invasive and harassing telemarketing calls."

He went on to argue that he "experienced frustration, annoyance, irritation, and a sense that his privacy has been invaded" by the texts.

Arguing that the texts constituted "malicious, intentional, willful, reckless, wanton and negligent disregard" for his rights, Rojas sought at least $31,500 in damages from Pelosi's campaign, including $1,500 for each text received.

But months later, on February 22, Rojas moved to dismiss the suit against Pelosi.

And according to federal campaign finance disclosures made public on Friday, the dismissal came after Rojas received a $7,500 payment marked "Settlement" from Pelosi's congressional campaign.

Rojas and Pelosi's campaign did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Fundraising texts sent in Pelosi's name have achieved a certain level of notoriety — and infamy — in recent years.

"Why won't Nancy Pelosi stop emailing me?" read the headline of a recent Los Angeles Times column in which the author expressed annoyance at the increasingly hyperbolic tone of campaign solicitations in general.

—crazy ass moments in american politics (@ampol_moment) June 24, 2022

Rojas, in his lawsuit, went as far as to print out verbatim some of the fundraising texts he received, including one capitalizing on the retirement of a slew of Republicans, including Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, and Richard Shelby of Alabama.