A Blog Reader Suggested I "Take a Day Off From Bashing President Trump": Here is My Reply

A federal court recently ruled that a Jewish woman’s lawsuit can proceed against Andrew Anglin, editor of the Daily Stormer, a daily online journal for neo-Nazis and their ilk.

Thankfully, the judge didn’t take any days off when he read the extensive record in this case. The judge set this background:

"(Tanya) Gersh lives in Whitefish, Montana, and has a real estate practice there. She and her husband are Jewish, and have raised their two children in the Jewish faith. In late 2016, Gersh became involved in a real estate dispute with Sherry Spencer (“Spencer”), the owner of a mixed-used property in downtown Whitefish. Spencer’s son, Richard Spencer, is a white nationalist member of the far right who gained notoriety when a video of him stating “Hail Trump! Hail our people! Hail victory” during a gathering of white nationalists soon after President Donald Trump’s election went viral. Following the video’s release, some members of the Whitefish community who believed that Spencer had not disavowed her son’s racist views considered protesting in front of her mixed-use property."

Eventually, residents of Whitefish organized a boycott of Spencer’s mother’s business. The mother asked Gersh for advice. She said, in effect, “sell your property and renounce your son's views.” Anglin, Spencer's friend, set off a troll storm (see photo). Here is an excerpt of what happened, according to the court:

"Gersh contends she and her family were a captive audience to the several hundred cell phone calls, voicemails, text messages, emails, letters, and social media comments they received from Anglin’s readers, and asks the Court to hold that Anglin did not have a First Amendment right to force that offensive speech into her home. Gersh argues the traditional concept of “home” has expanded with the proliferation of cell phones, texting, emails, social media messages and other forms of electronic communication. She claims several courts have recognized as much, with one putting it this way: “[T]he substantial right of residents to find sanctuary in their homes, free from unwanted speech, is just as – if not more – vital today, where intrusions via the mail, the telephone and, now, email and the internet are ubiquitous.” National Coalition of Prayer, Inc. v. Carter, 455 F.3d 783, 795 (7th Cir. 2006) (Williams, J., concurring). Relying on this expansive view of home  and Montana’s traditional and time honored respect for residential privacy, Gersh argues the troll storm messages invaded her privacy interests in an essentially  intolerable manner."

And this:

The Complaint is replete with allegations that Anglin encouraged his readers to take action against Gersh, and caused them to inundate her and her family with hundreds of hateful and threatening anti-Semitic phone calls, text messages, emails, and other communications. Gersh claims that Anglin repeatedly published her and her family’s personal contact information on his website (see e.g. Doc. 1, ¶¶ 128, 130) and modeled the sort of vitriol he wanted them to use with his inflammatory anti-Semitic rhetoric and Nazi imagery – including images of Gersh and her son superimposed on a Nazi propaganda poster and a photo of the gates of Auschwitz. (Doc. 1, ¶¶ 28, 135). In addition, the Complaint alleges that Anglin “encouraged” his readers to: (1) call Gersh “and tell her what you think. And hey – if you’re in the area, maybe you should stop by and tell her in person what you think of her actions” (doc. 1, ¶ 84); (2) leave negative reviews of her business on line (doc. 1, ¶ 85); (3) take to Twitter and tell her 12 year old son “what you think of his whore mother’s vicious attack on the community of Whitefish” (doc. 1, ¶ 88); (4) give Gersh’s husband “a call or stop by his office and let him know what you think of his wife’s behavior, advise him to get a leash on that hoe” (doc 1, ¶ 89); (5) contact businesses and organizations associated with Gersh (doc. 1, ¶ 145) and; (6) “keep putting pressure on these Jews.” (Doc. 1, ¶ 130).”

The court has moved the matter on to the next phase for trial. The main point of the lawsuit is to financially impair Anglin’s Trump-enabled hate website.

To my objecting reader: This post is being made after 10:00 p.m. but before the day is over. That’s right: I’m not taking today off. I’m not taking today off from calling out a president and supporters who hate, or promote hatred, against Jews, Muslims, Mexicans, Central Americans, illegal immigrants, legal immigrants, women, transgender people, black football players, Democrats, principled Republicans, judges, prosecutors, mainstream media, fire fighters…  And I won’t take the weekend off, either.

Nor will my friends, many of whom are not targeted (for now) for hatred.