"Even Nazi expression, no matter the psychic harm on Jewish residents, is nonetheless protected speech." Why That’s Wrong.

The quote is from a First Amendment attorney, Marc Randazza. He represents a neo-Nazi, Andrew Anglin. Anglin published an online hate “newspaper” called The Daily Stormer until internet hosts stopped its publication. That’s a good indication that Randazza’s defense above is wrong—otherwise, he’d be countersuing the internet host that booted Anglin off the Internet.

Here’s what the lawsuit is about. Gersh v. Anglin, a pending lawsuit in federal district court in Montana, alleges that Andrew Anglin, publisher of a white supremacist website called the Daily Stormer, orchestrated an online barrage of intimidation against a Jewish real estate agent.  The campaign against Tanya Gersh arose from false information that she pressured the mother of an Alt-Right leader, Richard Spencer, to sell her property in Whitefish, Montana after Spencer gained notoriety for a Nazi-style gathering in Washington D.C.  

Anglin posted an article calling for readers to “TAKE ACTION” by contacting Gersh and her family, and instructing readers to coordinate their messaging by stating that “you are sickened by their Jew agenda.”  The post provided Gersh’s contact information and included pictures of her family with a yellow Star of David, labelled “Jude.”  Anglin followed up with another post: “Let’s Hit Em Up. Are y’all ready for an old fashioned Troll Storm? Because AYO – it’s that time, fam.”  Typical of the torrent of e-mails, phone calls, voicemails, texts, letters and postcards that bombarded Gersh and her family, one said: “Thanks for demonstrating why your race needs to be collectively ovened (sic). You have no idea what you are doing, six million are only the beginning. We are going to keep track of you for the rest of your life. You will be driven to the brink of suicide….” 

Anglin’s online communication network reached a meeting of the minds to violate Gersh’s constitutional rights.  Anglin’s posts orchestrated a campaign of terror and enlisted followers to intimidate Gersh and her family because they are Jewish. Anglin’s followers used various communication platforms to send death threats, and more generally, anti-Semitic, hateful, and harassing messages.

Numerous e-mails revealed intent to harm Gersh financially because she is Jewish. One stated, “We are going to ruin you, you Kike PoS. The same way you do anyone else. You mother-fuckers are going taste your own medicine, as we harass you & yours in your public & professional lives. You will loose (sic) money.”  Another e-mail threatened: “Gersh, you slimy jewess (sic), do you honestly believe you can force a woman to sell her property for ‘the lowest commission you can manage’ by threatening to call in your local kike ‘tolerance’ groups? In the age of social media?”  The message added, “You’d better lawyer up, kike – we’re going to have your real-estate license over this.”  Similarly, another e-mail said, “Do you think Tanya Gersh and that disgusting pack of Talmudic freaks who work at PureWest Real Estate are going to get away with terrorizing Americans?...We shall see what will become of ‘PureWest’ Real Estate in the coming years.”

Anglin’s co-conspirators organized a boycott against Gersh because she is Jewish. They sent threatening messages to Gersh on her work e-mail, and copied her co-workers.   Some of these e-mails intended to cause Ms. Gersh to lose her job, for example: “You should fire and disavow Tanya Gersh for her unprofessional, illegal, and anti-white conduct. Do the rest of your agents engage in extortion and intimidation as well?”  Another said, “I’m just writing to let you know I will never do business with your company and I will also tell everyone I know not to do business with you until such time as you fire your employee, Tanya Girsh (sic) a vile woman who has taken part in an extortion and harassment campaign against a resident of Whitefish. Get rid of her or get boycotted.”  Callously referring to the Holocaust, another message added, “Six million thanks for your cooperation.”
Tanya Gersh has sued Anglin under Montana's anti-intimidation law. You do not need a law degree to understand that no one has a First Amendment right to organize and direct a campaign of terror that causes extreme fear, concern for one's safety, and loss of one's business relationships.

My research article, “Targeting White Supremacy in the Workplace,” analyzes this case among other instances of white supremacist interference with the rights of Jews, blacks, and immigrants to move freely without fear of harm, and to make a livelihood without enduring a racist boycott. Stanford Law & Policy Review will publish this article early in 2018.