Hank Poitras, better known as “Planet Hank,” speaks during a social media livestream in May 2026. Screenshot Updated 6:28 p.m. A new Vermont law regulating political media that’s generated with artificial intelligence is facing an early legal challenge from a content creator in Brattleb oro.   Hank Poitras, better known by his social media moniker “Planet Hank,” filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday against the Vermont attorney general’s office, arguing that the law, which went into effect this year, is unconstitutional. According to court filings, the attorney general’s office sent Poitras a letter last month demanding he answer questions about a video he posted on his social media feeds depicting U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., and one of Balint’s Republican challengers in this year’s election, Mark Coester. The letter stated that the office believed the video on Poitras’ account may have violated the law. The office gave Poitras until July 10 to respond to questions, according to court filings, including whether he created the video himself or only shared it, as well as what tools were used to create the video. The new legislation requires that artificially generated media that “injures the reputation of a political candidate” carry a disclosure stating the media is fake, if it is published within 90 days of an election. The law has exemptions for parody and for news organizations that report on the content in question. The video, which Poitras posted June 7, depicts Coester deriding Balint outside the Vermont Statehouse about her policies and campaign fundraising before showing Coester climbing into an excavator, picking Balint up with its bucket and dropping her into a dumpster. June 7 is less than 90 days before this year’s Aug. 11 primary election.  “Help Vermont take out the trash,” a narrator’s voice says. The video is perhaps the first high-profile case of artificial political media making the rounds in Vermont, at least since the new law took effect. Poitras said in the lawsuit the video had more than 30,000 views.  The video does not include a disclaimer stating it is fake. But Poitras argued in the suit that the attorney general should not have targeted him over the video because it is clearly fake and satirical. He also argued that the law is an infringement on the First Amendment right to free speech and so should be struck down.  Poitras additionally asked a judge to quash the state’s probe into him. “No one, but a very young child or an unusually gullible person, would believe that the video, which also depicts Ms. Balint wearing a French-style beret as she is being lifted into the dumpster, is real, or that it is not a satirical commentary on Ms. Balint’s political views, candidacy, and elite persona,” the lawsuit reads.  A video posted by Hank Poitras, better known as “Planet Hank,” depicts U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., being dropped into a dumpster outside the Vermont Statehouse by one of her Republican challengers this year, Mark Coester. Screenshot Poitras also contended that the investigation was politically motivated because Attorney General Charity Clark and Balint are both Democratic incumbents, and because some of the office’s questions mentioned Balint but none mentions Coester. “Afterall, who is to say that Mr. Coester was not negatively depicted in a video that showed him hop into an excavator and violently scoop up and discard a beret-clad woman half his size?” the lawsuit states. Poitras’ lawsuit was first reported by Seven Days. Coester, a logger and small business owner from Westminster who was the Republican nominee to challenge Balint in 2024, previously told the Burlington newspaper that he did not make the video but shared it on his own social media and found it “hilarious.”  Balint, for her part, criticized the video in a statement and said that “this kind of deception has no place in our democracy, and it should concern everyone regardless of party.” Poitras is being represented by Brady Toensing, a former vice chair of the Vermont Republican Party who also led President Donald Trump’s Vermont campaign committee in 2016 and went on to serve in Trump’s Department of Justice. “The right to criticize, satirize, and mock our political leaders is not a privilege the government grants us. It is ours by birthright, and Vermonters do not surrender it because Attorney General Clark takes offense,” Toensing said in an emailed statement Thursday on behalf of Poitras. Poitras has amassed a substantial following on YouTube and other platforms in recent years by filming videos of police arrests. He also hosts online streams featuring political guests and topics. He faced criticism from the chair of the Vermont GOP, Paul Dame, as well as others earlier this year for making what a Vermont Public story described as misogynistic and racist social media posts. Poitras is not the first to question the constitutionality of the AI disclosure law. State lawmakers heard and discussed testimony to that point from at least one national free speech advocacy group while drafting the legislation over the last two years. Ultimately, supporters said they settled on a disclosure stipulation rather than an outright ban on AI-generated political media in an effort to avoid limiting speech.  “This bill doesn’t ban anything at all — nor does it prevent people from creating this kind of content,” said Rep. Chea Waters Evans, D-Charlotte, presenting the legislation on the House floor last year. “This bill makes sure that if people are being given false information, it’s very, very clear that that is what is happening.” The legislation was proposed in response to a situation in 2024 when a New Hampshire man made thousands of fake calls ahead of that state’s primary election using an artificially generated voice to sound as if then-President Joe Biden was discouraging Democrats from voting.  Vermont’s law gives the attorney general authority to conduct civil investigations into possible violations of the disclosure requirement. The law also sets out potential fines for violators. Clark’s office said in its letter that it would cease its investigation if Poitras brought the video into compliance, likely by adding a caption. Lauren Jandl, Clark’s chief of staff, said in a statement Thursday that the office could not comment on the lawsuit. Read the story on VTDigger here: Content creator ‘Planet Hank’ sues Vermont attorney general over AI video probe. ...read more read less