Right-wing radio host sued for defamation

Courtesy of the Detroit News

The Detroit News

https://www.detroitnews.com/staff/2683993001/craig-mauger/)

Nov. 30, 2025, 11:01 p.m. ET

A right-wing radio personality in northern Michigan is facing a defamation suit from a businessman whom he accused of hiring undocumented workers, according to a trove of court records that entangle Antrim County's clerk and thousands of dollars in campaign fundraising discrepancies.

Randy Bishop, who's known by many listeners as "Trucker Randy," has been a longtime radio host with a show named "Your Defending Fathers"  It airs on the Cheboygan-based station WCHY-FM (97.7). His political show, which he describes as having a Christian conservative focus, has frequently promoted election fraud theories and targeted Democrats and moderate Republicans. Voters chose his wife, Victoria Bishop, a Republican, to be Antrim County's chief election official in the November 2024 election.

Thomas Moran, founder of Moran Iron Works in Onaway, sued Randy Bishop on Oct. 28, 2024, after Randy Bishop allegedly used his radio show to accuse Moran of "shipping in ... illegal immigrants," according to court records.

Randy Bishop claimed, on his show, that Moran was running for the Onaway Area Schools Board of Education because he wanted his workers' children "to be taught English because they only speak Spanish right now," Moran's lawyer, Sandra Jasinski, detailed in one court filing.

"I don't lie, on this show or any time in my life," Randy Bishop said during an Oct. 7, 2024, broadcast after Moran sought a retraction, according to court records.

Randy Bishop also said that Moran was bringing in migrants because "he can't find Americans to do the work," according to court records. The immigrants were being flown into the Alpena County airport, Bishop maintained. Randy Bishop said Moran had talked about the issue during a Republican dinner in 2023.

In a letter dated Sept. 20, 2024, Jasinski demanded that Randy Bishop cease making false statements about Moran and publicly correct the ones he had previously made. All of Moran Iron Works' employees were lawfully employed, Jasinski wrote.

"That Moran Iron Works may employ individuals who were born outside of the United States is not evidence that those individuals are employed in violation of the law," Jasinski wrote to Bishop.

Moran Iron Works, a metal fabricator that builds barges and Mackinac Island ferry boats, has recruited workers from outside the United States but has complied with state and federal regulations in doing so, Jasinski wrote in a court filing against Bishop.

There was "nothing" in Moran’s 2023 speech at a Republican dinner that "remotely suggests Moran Iron Works hires illegal immigrants from Mexico or any other country," Jasinski wrote in a Sept. 20, 2024, letter to Bishop.

Jasinski used the subject line "defamation" for the letter. She noted that Randy Bishop had said, on his show, that he was "just asking the question" about Moran.

"Evidently, you felt that making this statement would protect you from liability for defamation," Jasinski wrote. "You are wrong."

Jasinski said Randy Bishop's false statements caused employees of Moran Iron Works to be "harassed in public" and spurred the business to spend time and money to "ensure worker safety." In a separate court filing, Jasinski said workers and their "school-age children have been harassed and falsely accused of being 'illegal' and, in one case, a 'drug dealer.'"

"Moreover, your defamatory statements have degraded Moran Iron Works' reputation in the community and risk affecting his business relationships," Jasinski wrote.

On Oct. 28, 2024, Moran sued Randy Bishop and Michigan Broadcasters LLC, which holds the broadcast license for the station that airs his radio show, in Cheboygan County Circuit Court, seeking an injunction to force Bishop to remove false statements from his show's website and $25,000 in damages.

In a March 10 court filing, Paul Bare, a lawyer for Randy Bishop, responded to Moran's claims, saying Bishop "was at all times exercising his right to freedom of speech."

Randy Bishop didn't respond to a series of questions emailed to him from The Detroit News last week.

On Dec. 9, 2024 — 42 days after the defamation suit was submitted — Randy Bishop filed for bankruptcy in federal court. Since then, Moran and his legal team have been attempting to ensure Bishop can't jettison, through the bankruptcy, financial damages he might have to pay through the defamation suit.

In a statement Friday, Jasinski said Moran and Moran Iron Works filed the lawsuit to clear their names and to hold Randy Bishop and the radio station accountable for their actions. 

"We are encouraged by the court’s rulings to date," Jasinski said. "Although the matter is still pending, Mr. Moran and Moran Iron Works have confidence in the judicial system and trust that it will ultimately provide them with the relief that they are seeking."

Mystery money?

Randy Bishop's claims against Moran came in fall 2024 as Republican Donald Trump was campaigning for a second term as president and vowing to launch a mass deportation effort to remove people who were in the country without proper documentation.

"Muslims in Hamtramck & Dearborn now voting for Donald Trump,...Harris is going to lose in Michigan!!!" Randy Bishop tweeted on Oct. 18, 2024.

Indeed, Trump won Michigan. Despite Randy Bishop's claims, Moran was also the top vote-getter in his race for a seat on the Onaway school board (https://presqueislecounty.org/2024%20Election/2024%20Final%20Cumulative.pdf).

Meanwhile, Victoria Bishop successfully ran for clerk in Antrim County in November 2024, pledging to hand-count every ballot (https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2024/11/07/michigan-official-at-the-center-of-2020-election-controversy-loses-write-in-campaign/76111050007/) in future elections.

Antrim County, a rural area of northern Michigan, had become a hotbed of conspiracy theories about Trump's 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden and about election equipment in general. The initial results in the county in 2020 were incorrect because of human errors (https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/michigan/2022/11/06/antrim-clerk-has-faith-in-michigan-election-after-facing-hell-in-2020-trump-biden-deperno/69619605007/), but Trump supporters and the president himself tied the mistakes to Dominion Voting Systems, the equipment used in the county.

In 2024, as Victoria Bishop ran to replace Sheryl Guy, the clerk who oversaw the 2020 election, she reported receiving $10,000 in campaign contributions from loans made by her husband, Randy Bishop.

A month after the election, Randy Bishop filed for bankruptcy, saying he had no cash, $50 in his bank account and no unpaid loans that he had provided to someone else, according to a campaign finance complaint filed by Jasinski.

Also, under the penalty of perjury, Randy Bishop said he had only two sources of income: $700 in monthly Social Security payments and $750 in monthly wages as a "radio announcer and salesman for Michigan Broadcasters LLC."

Michigan Broadcasters holds the broadcast license for WCHY. Victoria Bishop is listed as the resident agent of Michigan Broadcasters, according to state business filings.

During an April 15, 2025, examination for his bankruptcy, Randy Bishop said his wife's campaign finance disclosures were inaccurate and denied making the contributions to her campaign, according to the complaint filed with the Secretary of State's office by Jasinski.

During her own deposition for the bankruptcy, Victoria Bishop said she, not her husband, had actually made the $10,000 in contributions and she made the contributions in cash. But Victoria Bishop "admitted that she has no records to substantiate the entries on her campaign finance reports," Jasinski wrote in her complaint of Victoria Bishop, who now oversees elections in Antrim County.

While Victoria Bishop amended her disclosures to show the money came from herself, the campaign finance complaint process led to the release of about 1,000 pages of deposition transcripts

(https://www.michigan.gov/sos/-/media/Project/Websites/sos/15delrio/Jasinski-v-Bishop-25-063-COMPILED-compressed.pdf?rev=371b733076874b2a9ac50cd5050c4e86&hash=13B3D7E5D8FECFE8C08934CC9BE83F05) and other financial records involving the Bishops.

"So do you still have big piles of cash laying around?" Jasinski asked Victoria Bishop during one of the examinations, referring to the cash contributions to her campaign.

"That's none of your business," Victoria Bishop replied, according to the transcript.

Victoria Bishop said that because she and Randy are married, she didn't believe it mattered whether she listed herself or her husband as the donor, according to the transcript.

In September, the Secretary of State's office issued a formal warning to Victoria Bishop for initially listing the wrong source of the loans.

'Crack radio'

During a July 25 interview of Victoria Bishop for the bankruptcy case, Jasinski asked the clerk if she listens to her husband's radio show on a daily basis, according to a transcript.

Victoria Bishop said she does and added, "They call him crack radio."

That deposition occurred only after the Antrim County clerk was held in contempt by Judge James Boyd on June 20 for failing to appear for a court-ordered interview scheduled for May 13 and for failing to produce a set of financial documents by May 8, according to court records.

Then, on Oct. 30, Boyd ordered Victoria Bishop to pay Moran $12,247 for the legal costs related to pursuing the contempt of court motions.

In the campaign finance complaint, Jasinski described documents that had been released by the Bishops as part of the bankruptcy proceeding as "eye-popping." Jasinski wrote that in depositions, both Bishops "could not recall the last time that they filed state or federal tax returns."

Victoria Bishop didn't respond to an email seeking comment from The News. The bankruptcy was personally sought by Randy Bishop and didn't include Victoria Bishop, who makes about $90,000 a year as Antrim County's clerk, according to court records.

In a Feb. 4 deposition, Randy Bishop said his tax accountant told him "basically" he doesn't have any income and "therefore, I'm not required to file" an annual tax return.

A bankruptcy trustee then noted that Randy Bishop reported making about $750 a month through his radio gig.

"That is correct," Randy Bishop replied in an examination. "The approximate amount I've been receiving in the form of cash payments, gasoline, travel expenses, things like that are from the radio station."

For married couples who file separately, the Internal Revenue Service says (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/check-if-you-need-to-file-a-tax-return) a taxpayer of any age must file a tax return if they earn more than $5 a year.

During that examination, Jasinski asked who the accountant was who advised Randy Bishop that it was unnecessary to file tax returns.

"I'd have to look it up," Randy Bishop replied. "I don't even remember. They passed away, and I removed them from my memory in my phone and computer a few years ago."

Randy Bishop's radio show has previously included sponsors like My Pillow and My Pure Health Solutions, a health program that is mentioned on a website that promotes "Trucker Randy's Weight Loss Special (https://www.truckerrandyhealth.com/)."

Asked, during one examination for the bankruptcy, where he got $1,400 to pay his lawyer, Paul Bare, Bishop replied only, "I don't recall."

cmauger@detroitnews.com