Rapper Afroman has filed a malicious-prosecution lawsuit against Ohio sheriff's deputy Brian Newland, one of seven officers who previously sued him for defamation and lost. The complaint was filed in Ohio court on July 28, 2026, at 8:45 AM PDT, according to Bloomberg Law, and later obtained by Billboard.

The case traces back to August 2022, when Adams County sheriff's deputies raided Afroman's home with guns drawn under a search warrant for suspected drug trafficking and kidnapping. No wrongdoing was found. No charges were filed. Seized money was later returned. Afroman then used his own surveillance-camera footage from the raid to make music videos and social media posts mocking the officers — one titled "Lemon Pound Cake" — and seven deputies responded with a defamation suit, formally captioned Cooley v. Foreman.

That lawsuit failed. On March 18, 2026, after a five-day trial in which Afroman wore an American flag suit and asserted a First Amendment right to mock the officers, a jury deliberated for hours before clearing him of all defamation and invasion-of-privacy claims. The verdict was widely reported as a free-speech victory, with the ACLU of Ohio having participated as a friend of the court — a filing by a non-party offering legal argument to assist the judge.

Now Afroman is going on the offensive. His new complaint accuses Newland of "malicious prosecution," a legal claim that targets someone for initiating a lawsuit they knew lacked merit. Afroman alleges the defamation case "lacked legal merit" and was designed to "harass" him. He is seeking at least $25,000 in legal bills and other expenses incurred defending against the officers' suit. He announced the filing on Instagram, calling it a "birthday present" to himself, Billboard reported.

The seven officers who originally sued Afroman were Brian Newland, Shawn D. Cooley, Justin Cooley, Michael D. Estep, Shawn S. Grooms, Lisa Phillips, and Randolph L. Walters, Jr. Newland is the only one named in the new complaint so far. Power 105.1 (iHeartMedia) reported on the suit on July 29, describing it as a malicious-prosecution action against a former Ohio police officer.

The defamation trial itself drew viral attention on social media, with Afroman's supporters following the proceedings closely. NPR reported on his acquittal on March 19, 2026.

For an artist whose career has spanned more than two decades, the courtroom has become an unlikely second stage — and the raid that found nothing has now generated two lawsuits, a jury verdict, and a counterclaim that pushes the dispute into its fourth year.