As a previous post noted, a ruling for the Christofascist plaintiff in Masterpiece Cakeshop could embolden white nationalists to make similar "religious freedom" arguments to support their active discrimination against minorities. Already, one neo-Nazi site is claiming that a so-called "troll storm" that was unleashed against a Jewish target is protected "free speech." Welcome to Trump/Pence's America. It's an American where whites/Christian extremists are above the law and can abuse anyone who doesn't conform with their racial and/or religious views. And the separation between right wing, evangelical Christians and white supremacists is much smaller than many want to believe. It is no coincidence that the head of Family Research Council - an anti-gay hate group - has ties to white supremacy organizations. A piece in the Washington Post looks at the insidious "free speech" argument being made by neo-Nazis. Here are excerpts:
The founder of a popular neo-Nazi website who was sued after he called on his readers and followers to “troll storm” a Jewish Realtor from Montana is arguing that his actions are protected by free speech.
Andrew Anglin, founder of the Daily Stormer, has asked a federal court in Montana to dismiss a lawsuit that Tanya Gersh filed against him last spring. In court records filed last week, Anglin’s attorneys said that the First Amendment “is blind to viewpoint” and that the Constitution protects Anglin’s right to express his views about Gersh, “no matter how many people find those views intolerable.”
“If a local business were polluting the environment, any editor could rally his readers to write to that business in protest,” his legal team, led by First Amendment lawyer Marc Randazza, wrote in court briefs asking for the dismissal of the lawsuit. “If a local business were discriminating against black customers, the NAACP can exhort its members to send correspondence to it. And, conversely, the KKK can ask its members to send letters of protest to an establishment that treats all races equally.”
Gersh, of Whitefish, Mont., sued Anglin in April in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. The complaintdetails many of the more than 700 anti-Semitic and hateful messages, including death threats, to Gersh, her family, friends and colleagues.
The deluge of messages began after Gersh, who was involved with a local organization called “Love Lives Here,” spoke with Sherry Spencer, the mother of white nationalist and alt-right leader Richard Spencer.
“There are only 6,000 Jews in the entire state of Montana, yet they’re 100% of the people trying to silence Richard Spencer by harassing his mother. So Then — Let’s Hit Em Up. Are ya’ll ready for an old fashioned Troll Storm?” Anglin wrote.
Anglin’s attorneys argued that his articles do not constitute a “true threat” of violence against Gersh. Although there have been death threats, they said those did not come directly from Anglin, but rather, from third parties. The attorneys added that Anglin included disclaimers urging his readers to avoid threats of violence.
“Political hyperbole is not a threat. . . . The third parties’ statements are generally recognized anti-Semitic tropes, without actual harm reasonably construed,” the attorneys wrote. “And, even Nazi expression, no matter the psychic harm on Jewish residents, is nonetheless protected speech.”
The attorneys further argued that although the speech in question is unpopular, banning it would create a dangerous precedent for the First Amendment rights of advocacy organizations.
Gersh’s lawsuit, which is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, alleged invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violation of Montana’s anti-intimidation act. Gersh is represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Last summer, Anglin’s site was evicted from its home on the Internet after a violent white nationalist rally drew fresh attention to hate speech in the United States. The web hosting company GoDaddy announced in August that it will no longer host the site, after Anglin disparaged a protester who was killed in the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville.
Anglin characterized Heather Heyer as a “drain on society” and insulted her appearance. Heyer, 32, was killed after a car allegedly driven by a Nazi sympathizer plowed into a crowd of counterprotesters.
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