A Brooklyn man has filed a lawsuit against two Connecticut residents who run a website and YouTube channel called Watchman River, claiming their apocalyptic preaching of Jesus Christ’s return and other Christian eschatology has caused him “severe emotional distress, anxiety and mental anguish, and disruption to personal and professional life.”
Watchman River is operated by Tom and Renae Cote of Berlin, Connecticut. Tom Cote appears in the videos offering his take on current events through the lens of anticipating the coming rapture and tribulation preached in Christian denominations throughout the world. Watchman River’s YouTube channel has 129,000 subscribers and, according to court documents, over 37 million views.
David Diver, however, claims that Cote’s predications “foster obsessive thought patters and undue distress in vulnerable viewers;” promote fear and anxiety; that Cote has “failed to exercise reasonable care” in presentation of his apocalyptic predictions, and Cote should have known that such preaching would be psychologically harmful, according to Diver’s March 2025 court complaint.
Notably, Diver makes an argument under Connecticut’s Unfair Trade Practices Act, claiming that Cote and his wife Renea, who helps run the channel, “failed to disclose that their speculative claims were not factual, misleading their audience for financial gain,” because Cote encourages people to support his work through a donation page on his website.
Diver, who appears to be representing himself, is seeking $75,000 for “emotional distress and psychological harm,” an injunction requiring Cote to post clear disclaimers on his “speculative” content, and a “retraction and public apology acknowledging the potential harm caused by their messaging.”
According to Watchman River’s website, in 2022 Cote was “led by the Spirit of God to the banks of the Connecticut River to proclaim the powerful and urgent message that Jesus is coming soon,” and has since been spreading the message through YouTube.
“We are fast approaching that Daniel 9:27 covenant being signed, the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation,” Cote said to his audience in a May 9, 2025, video referencing President Donald Trump’s ongoing talks with Israel and Saudi Arabia, along with concerns about artificial intelligence, UFO sightings, and natural disasters.
“I’m not predicting that the seven-year Tribulation is definitely going to start this fall, but I’m saying, I think it probably is,” Cote continued. “There seems to be this completely perfect storm of events going on worldwide that is showing me look up for your redemption draws nigh.”
The rapture in Christian eschatology is when God takes all true believers from the Earth, thus beginning the seven-years of tribulation when the anti-Christ will rule the world. Following that seven-year period, Jesus Christ will return to Earth with the believers and defeat the Anti-Christ.
The ideas behind these predictions — which vary across denominations — are interpreted largely from the Book of Revelation, with other references found throughout the Bible, including the referenced passage from the Book of Daniel, and have inspired popular books like the “Left Behind” series of novels.
Reached for comment, Tom and Renae said that upon receiving the lawsuit paperwork, they prayed for Mr. Diver, and both stated they wish him “no ill will.”
“I do my YouTube channel because I truly believe that Jesus is coming soon,” Tom said in an interview. “I think it’s a rather frivolous suit because there are accusations in there that aren’t even accurate.”
One of those inaccuracies, according to Cote, is that he makes money from selling merchandise. Tom denies selling any merchandise through YouTube or his website, and a search of his website revealed only a donation page for Watchman River, but no merchandise for sale. Cote also states that if his channel causes people fear and anxiety, he hasn’t seen that expressed in the comments or emails to him; he claims that people find his preaching to have a calming effect.
“More often than not, people will tell me in comments ‘I can never watch news, you’re the only one I watch because you have a calming effect on me when I hear about terrible things going on in the Middle East,’” Cote said. “I say it with such calm because I’m not worried about it. Because I know Jesus, and I think he’s in control.”
Cote, through his attorney Mario Cerame, has filed a motion to dismiss under Connecticut’s Anti-SLAPP statute, passed in 2017, that protects individuals against frivolous lawsuits that seek to curb free speech under the threat of costly litigation. Under Connecticut statute, lawsuits based on speech related to matters of public concern can be dismissed. “Public concern,” is defined as issues related to health or safety, the environment, economic well-being, the government, zoning, regulations, and public figures or officials.
Cerame argues the complaint should be dismissed under the Anti-SLAPP statute because Jesus Christ is a public figure; Cote is making the speech in a public venue on matters of public concern; Cote’s warnings about dangerous events and the last days are related to health and well-being, and that Diver’s claims are not actionable.
“Much of the speech is about public officials and their acts,” the motion to dismiss states. “Moreover, virtually all of the speech alleged at issue relates to Jesus Christ, a general purpose public figure.”
“Even predictions of the end days are shielded by the First Amendment,” Cerame said in an interview. “The apocalypse, the end of days, the afterlife, these are all important things for people to think about and they have been forever. Debates about religion goes back to before Christianity.”
“The modern public square is YouTube these days,” Cerame continued. “The Cotes are just like the guy with the placard saying the end is near, or that friar who would talk about the end days in medieval times and preach to the crowd. This is them preaching to a crowd of over 100,000 followers, and it’s important speech.”
Cote speculates that perhaps he is being targeted because of the type of eschatology he preaches, which he called pre-Tribulation Rapture.
“There seems to be an anger from some believers in Christ at that belief,” Cote said. “He probably hasn’t watched the channel much and maybe he’s angry about something, and that’s why I feel for him.”
Diver did not respond to a phone call requesting comment.
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Read Matthew chapter 24 and compare it to what’s happening in the world today. If you know Jesus Christ this is exciting and encouraging. If you don’t know Him it SHOULD be terrifying. Open your heart to Him. He is alive and is coming back.
This is a farce. No one is forcing David Diver to watch this channel, or any other channel, on YouTube. If this channel causes him “emotional distress” then just move on and watch something else. This is about denying others their 1st Amendment rights not about Diver’s alleged trauma.
The fact that I can sue someone for something I don’t like bothers me. Like others have stated, if he doesn’t like the sites he doesn’t have to watch them. I disagree with the theology of the sites, but the people have a constitutional right to post their beliefs. If this suit goes forward and a secularist jury finds against the posters, this will have a chilling effect on the first amendment.
This is why we have separation of church and state, along with freedom of speech. Jesus Jewish ✡ Christ was murdered in Rome by the Italians. His father is Zeus and his coming back is spiritual because the Italians killed him and his crew.
If your offended with reality, go move to the moon. If you worship Jesus Jewish ✡ Christ, then your Jewish because Catholics and Christians are not a religion.
When you live in reality, life is easier, like how Santa isn’t real but Satan is and Santa spells Satan. Its a word puzzle.
Maybe if people payed attention to what is really going on, we would live in a better world because no ware in the bible does it tell you to rape children and sexually assault them, yet Catholics do in masses.
Gijo
What a misguided, uneducated, hate filled comment.
You clearly do not understand what separation of church and state is. It definitely does not fit your narrative.
Very interesting article, Marc. It seems Mr. Diver isn’t ready for Christ’s return or the end times, and therefore, it causes him great distress. Whether or not a person is ready makes a big difference in how they view the future.
Mr driver needs psychological help and he needs to get saved because Jesus is coming