<div>This entire post is written in our opinion and should be seen as our opinion.
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<div>Dear Hard Lens Media Community and Supporters of Free Speech,
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<div>For three years, Hard Lens Media, led by Kit Cabello and supported by Daniel Luepker, has been under siege by "owners" of Chicago Corner. Their goal is clear: to destroy our small YouTube channel through a relentless campaign of malicious lawsuits, predatory trademark tactics, and vicious harassment.
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<div>This is not just an attack on us—it’s a dire threat to all small YouTube creators, and we urgently need your help to fight back and protect the creative community.
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<div>This threatens all of YouTube for Unchecked Malice
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<div>**Weaponizing Trademarks**: Chicago Corner secretly trademarked our brand in January 2023, before filing baseless lawsuits against us for using our own content—videos we created to promote them with their permission. This predatory tactic allows anyone to file a trademark and sue small channels, bankrupting those unable to afford legal defenses. If successful, this could wipe out countless creators who lack the resources to fight back.
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<div>**Endless Legal Assaults**: They’ve bombarded us with frivolous copyright and labor claims, including a dismissed Copyright Claims Board case and a Northern District Court lawsuit flagged by a judge under Rule 11 for wasting court resources. Each dismissed case is followed by another, costing us thousands—nearly $10,000 per lawsuit—to defend against claims with no evidence, such as contracts or payment records. This strategy aims to drain us until we collapse or settle. We believe their end game is to be able to extract money from us eternally.
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<div>**Chilling Free Speech**: Their lawsuits punish any attempt to share our story, triggering costly litigation that forced us to self-censor, fearing financial ruin. This threatens the very foundation of independent media and free expression on platforms like YouTube. However, their promise of further litigation and the conclusion of discovery means that we are now implementing full transparency.
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<div>**Vicious Harassment**: Beyond lawsuits, they’ve doxxed our private emails, mocked Kit's grandfather’s death (a deeply personal loss in Feb 2023), and engaged in vile attacks, harassment, and regular meetings to strategize, X (e.g., @butcherscrowbar, @chicagocornertv).
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<div>We have this so well documented that for nearly every action they've taken against us, we can show it as a false AND show a similar example done to someone else to force a settlement or action from them.
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<div>After we included their tweets in discovery, they renamed their "Chicago Corner" X account to “Butcher’s Crowbar,” referencing a violent comic book character whose vengeance leads to the destruction of all around him. They then created a new "Chicago Corner" account to cover up the change, which we documented in real-time.
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<div>**Our Fight and Evidence:** Discovery has uncovered nearly 5,000 pages of damning evidence exposing their malicious intent, including their admission of no ownership or employment records to support their claims. They’ve missed critical discovery deadlines, weakening their case.
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<div>Public court records and their X accounts (@butcherscrowbar, @chicagocornertv) openly display their actions—search them to confirm our claims. They also can't delete these posts as they would be destroying evidence in discovery openly. 
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<div>Personal Toll
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<div>This ordeal has taken a devastating toll. Daniel has lost 60 pounds, his vision has deteriorated from 20/20 to 20/40, and he suffers regular migraines from the relentless stress of having every aspect of his life targeted continuously with the intent to destroy anything he builds for nearly 3 years.
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<div>Kit, a Marine with unyielding resolve, has stood firm, while people who used to be his best friends mock the death of his grandfather while hurting other members of his family from the stress of their son being targeted and betrayed, while also keeping him from leaving the country to visit them.
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<div>We are living frugally on less than $1,000 a month to fund litigation.
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<div>All revenue has gone to legal fees, leaving us feeling hunted daily, as Daniel compares it to facing “hitmen” waiting to strike.
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<div>Why They’re Doing This
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<div>They exploited a separate lawsuit, believing we’d collapse under financial pressure. As a complete result of their actions, they are in so deep, and they have no way to pull out.
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<div>Their strategy - Overwhelm us with lawsuits and harassment until we surrender.
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<div>Help Us Fight Back!
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<div>We’ve raised nearly $20,000, but we need at least $50,000 to fight this and protect the YouTube community. With your support, we can:
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<div>Stop their baseless lawsuits, consistently dismissed for lack of evidence, with the help of our exceptional legal team at Davis and Carter LLC.
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<div>Prevent this predatory strategy from destroying small creators, safeguarding free speech, and independent media.
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<div>Every dollar helps us end this nightmare and protect countless YouTubers from similar attacks. Hard Lens Media is more than a channel—it’s a community built on truth and resilience. We’ve sacrificed everything to keep it alive, but we can’t do it alone. Please donate today and share our story. Check public court records and their X accounts (@butcherscrowbar, @chicagocornertv) to see the evidence for yourself. Together, we can defeat these “comic book villains” and ensure they never harm another creator again.
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<div>To larger creators, we are happy to share more information with you that has been approved by our legal team. It's also publicly available. We want our story to be told.
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<div>Regards, Hard Lens Media
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<div>With your help, you give us a chance to win, and we will win. We have given everything to Hard Lens Media, and when we were terminated, we still did our show because we love what we do. If you believe in strong, independent media, help us with our legal fight so this nightmare can truly end.
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<div><strong>The Funds Will Be For!</strong>
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<div><strong>Any Money Raised Is For Legal Fees To Fight This Insanity In These Three Cases Against Us. </strong>
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<div><strong>We Have A Strong Legal Team, But To Proceed For Our Defence. We Have To Go Past Our Original Goal.</strong>
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<div><strong>Our Goal Is To Build A Strong Fund So That We Can See This To The Finish. </strong>
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<div><strong>All Help Is Needed, We Know That Truth &amp; Justice Is On Our Side. </strong>
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Lawrence Johnson

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