MISSOULA, Montana (AP) — A federal choose on Wednesday ordered the arrest of a neo-Nazi web site writer accused of ignoring a $14 million judgment in opposition to him for orchestrating an antisemitic harassment marketing campaign in opposition to a Montana lady and her household.
U.S. District Choose Dana Christensen issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Andrew Anglin, founder and operator of the Every day Stormer web site.
Attorneys for Tanya Gersh have stated Anglin didn't pay any portion of the August 2019 judgment and has ignored their requests for details about his whereabouts, his operation of the web site and different property.
Gersh says nameless web trolls bombarded her household with hateful and threatening messages after Anglin printed their private data, together with a photograph of her younger son. In a string of posts, Anglin accused Gersh and different Jewish residents of Whitefish, Montana, of participating in an “extortion racket” in opposition to Sherry Spencer, the mom of white nationalist Richard Spencer.
Gersh’s April 2017 lawsuit accused Anglin of invasion of privateness, intentional infliction of emotional misery and violation of the Montana Anti-Intimidation Act. An legal professional for Gersh didn't instantly reply to a phone message searching for remark Wednesday.
Choose Christensen ordered Anglin to pay greater than $4 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages to Gersh, who's represented by attorneys from the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Legislation Heart. The courtroom entered the default judgment in opposition to Anglin after he failed to look for a scheduled deposition by Gersh’s attorneys.
Anglin, a local of Ohio, has claimed to be residing exterior the U.S. His present whereabouts are unknown and he didn't instantly reply to an e-mail despatched to an deal with posted on his web site.
Anglin turned conscious of Gersh due to a dialog she had with Sherry Spencer. Gersh, an actual property agent, characterised it as a “mother-to-mother” discuss: She stated Sherry Spencer, who owns an condo constructing in Whitefish, referred to as her for recommendation after listening to that protesters of Richard Spencer’s views may goal the constructing.
Sherry Spencer wrote a weblog publish saying Gersh threatened her and pressured her to promote the property.
Sherry Spencer by no means went to the police with any allegation of extortion, however Anglin seized upon the incident and exhorted his readers to “hit” Gersh with “an old school Troll Storm.”
Most of the messages despatched to Gersh used antisemitic slurs and referred to the Holocaust. A tweet to her 12-year-old son had a picture of an oven with the message: “Pssst child there's a free X-box inside this oven.”
Different targets of Anglin’s on-line harassment campaigns additionally secured default judgments in opposition to him after he failed to answer their respective lawsuits.
In June 2019, a federal choose in Ohio awarded $4.1 million in damages to Muslim-American radio host Dean Obeidallah, who sued Anglin for falsely accusing him of terrorism. Obeidallah stated he acquired demise threats after Anglin printed an article that tricked readers into believing he took duty for the Might 2017 terrorist assault at an Ariana Grande live performance.
In August 2019, a federal choose in Washington entered one other default judgment in opposition to Anglin and awarded simply over $600,000 in compensatory and punitive damages to Taylor Dumpson, the primary Black lady to function American College’s pupil authorities president.