In the complaint, Nunes claims Twitter wanted to thwart his investigation into DOJ and FBI surveillance abuses and accuses the company of "knowingly hosting and monetizing content that is clearly abusive, hateful and defamatory – providing both a voice and financial incentive to the defamers – thereby facilitating defamation on its platform."

The lawsuit alleged defamation, conspiracy, and negligence, as well as violations of the state's prohibition against "insulting words" — effectively fighting words that tend towards "violence and breach of the peace." The complaint sought not only damages, but also an injunction compelling Twitter to turn over the identities behind numerous accounts he said harassed and defamed him.

Nunes' legal team wrote, "Twitter created and developed the content at issue in this case by transforming false accusations of criminal conduct, imputed wrongdoing, dishonesty and lack of integrity into a publicly available commodity used by unscrupulous political operatives and their donor/clients as a weapon. Twitter is 'responsible' for the development of offensive content on its platform because it in some way specifically encourages the development of what is offensive about the content."