Shirley Sherrod sues Andrew Breitbart for defamation, false light

A former Department of Agriculture employee who was forced to resign last year after the posting of a misleading video has filed suit against Andrew Breitbart, the conservative blogger who posted it.

Shirley Sherrod's suit was filed in District of Columbia Superior Court on Friday. The civil suit accuses Breitbart of "defamation, false light and infliction of emotional distress," according to a statement issued by the law firm representing her.

"This lawsuit is not about politics or race," Sherrod said in the statement. "It is not about right versus left, the NAACP or the Tea Party. It is about how quickly, in today's internet media environment, a person's good name can become 'collateral damage' in an overheated political debate.