Benny Johnson Confronts New York Times for Disparaging His Family’s Safety During 2020 Arson
Benny Johnson, the conservative podcaster with 3.8 million followers on X, has taken legal action against The New York Times, claiming the media outlet downplayed the dangers his wife and newborn faced during a 2020 arson incident. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Johnson described the Times’ article as a ‘sloppy hit job’ and expressed the significant emotional pain his family endured from the incident.
The fire, which occurred in a rowhouse that shared a wall with Johnson’s home in Washington, D.C., culminated in the death of two dogs. Security footage revealed that police officers used a crowbar to pry open Johnson’s front door before his wife exited while holding a baby as black smoke poured from the property. Johnson, a pro-Trump pundit, argued that the Times failed to adequately contextualize the situation, leaving his family’s trauma unacknowledged.
Johnson’s dispute with the Times came to a head during an August 12 press briefing regarding the administration’s actions in D.C. He reported witnessing several violent incidents, including muggings, thefts, and a carjacking, and claimed that his home was set ablaze in an arson with his infant child inside. The article by Ken Bensinger questioned his claims, asserting that the fire was in his neighbor’s house and that no human injuries were reported. Johnson, however, insists the article misrepresented the circumstances, framing the events as a lack of human compassion.
Johnson’s frustration grew as the article suggested that the fire did not pose a life-threatening risk to his family, despite the visible smoke and the footage of the incident. He argues that the article overlooked the structural connection between the rowhouse and his home, which he insists is critical to understanding the danger his family faced. The article’s portrayal, he claimed, is a disregard for the emotional and physical trauma his family experienced and an attack on the trustworthiness of his account.
Johnson provided video and photo evidence to the Times, which he believes should have left no room for ambiguity about the incident. However, he claims the reporting was influenced by a preconceived narrative questioning his credibility as an influencer. He has called for legal action over what he perceives as a lack of journalistic integrity and a failure to accurately represent the facts.
Meanwhile, the New York Times has defended its reporting, stating that the focus of the article was on Johnson’s journalistic dishonesty rather than his family’s safety. In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Times spokesperson emphasized that the article aimed to refute Johnson’s claims about his home being set ablaze and the alleged murders on his block, which the police records dispute. Johnson, who has relocated to Florida, has not yet taken any formal legal steps, but he has expressed that on a moral level, the situation is ‘disgraceful.’ He is now focusing on the legal ramifications of the dispute and the broader implications of the incident on public trust in media.