Judge rejects neo-Nazi’s First Amendment argument in harassment case

Enlarge / Plaintiff Tanya Gersh of Whitefish, Montana. (credit: Dan Chung / Associated Press)

When Andrew Anglin isn’t editing his neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer, he organizes harassment campaigns against perceived enemies. One target of an Anglin harassment campaign, Tanya Gersh, sued Anglin last year. On Wednesday, a Montana federal judge dealt Anglin a significant setback, holding that the First Amendment does not protect Anglin’s right to publish Gersh’s personal information and encourage his legion of anti-Semitic followers to harass her.

But this legal battle isn’t over yet. The judge’s ruling allows the lawsuit to go forward, but Gersh’s lawyers will still have to prove Anglin liable for invasion of privacy and other harms.

Still, the ruling could prove significant for other victims of online harassment. Anglin argued that he was just publishing information—like Gersh’s home phone number—and couldn’t be held responsible for what his readers did with that information. But the judge pointed to clear evidence Anglin knew exactly what readers would do with the information and egged them on at every step.