I wonder why they are afraid to pick on Muslims .........?
The Southern Poverty Law
Center filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the publisher and founder of a neo-Nazi website that called for the harassment of a Jewish woman and her family in Whitefish.
Filed in the U.S. District Court of Montana in Missoula against Andrew Anglin, publisher of The Daily Stormer, the lawsuit alleges the defendant fomented a barrage of crude, hateful and anti-Semitic voicemails, social media comments, emails and letters, including Christmas cards, against Tanya Gersh, her husband, and 12-year-old son.
"Hickory dickory dock, the kike ran up the clock. The clock struck three and Internet Nazi trolls gassed the rest of them," read one comment Gersh received on social media, according to the complaint; the user also posted "an altered image of Ms. Gersh being sprayed with a cloud of green gas."
The onslaught of attacks incited by Anglin invaded Gersh's privacy, inflicted emotional distress, violated Montana's Anti-Intimidation Act, and constitutes actual malice, the complaint said.
Anglin called for a "troll storm" against Gersh – and included her and her family's contact information – in a December 2016 story in which he accused her of trying to extort money from Richard Spencer's mother.
Richard Spencer is a national leader of a movement that mixes racism, white nationalism and populism; based part-time in Whitefish, he runs an organization dedicated to the "future of people of European descent."
Gersh, also represented by Montana lawyer John Morrison, alleges in the complaint she has experienced "severe emotional and physical distress" as a result of the troll storm. Instead of ice skating and skiing, she goes to trauma therapy, according to the court document.
"This attack has been one long nightmare that has changed me forever in so many ways," Gersh said in a statement provided in the Southern Poverty Law Center's news release. "No one should endure what I've experienced. And with the love and support of my family and others, we will take a stand against hate."
Based in Ohio, Anglin did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. He earlier called for – and
then postponed – an armed march in Whitefish on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The complaint outlines the political climate in Whitefish and interaction between Gersh and Sherry Spencer, Richard Spencer's mother, that preceded the stories on The Daily Stormer. The Daily Stormer has a tab called "The Jewish Problem" and it posts a picture of Pepe the Frog, associated with racism, drawn with swastikas in its eyes.
"The day after Ms. Spencer's Medium post, Mr. Anglin began posting articles on The Daily Stormer parroting Ms. Spencer's allegations against Ms. Gersh and calling for a troll storm against her," said the court document. Anglin wrote, "Let's Hit Em Up. Are y'all ready for an old fashioned Troll Storm?"
The Daily Stormer's followers responded with a “tsunami of threats” via email, social media and voicemail, the complaint said:
"Thanks for demonstrating why your race needs to be collectively ovened," said one threat.
"You will be driven to the brink of suicide & We will be there to take pleasure in your pain & eventual end," said another.
But the complaint said the language didn't bother Gersh as much as other messages: "The calls that most disturbed Ms. Gersh consisted only of the sound of guns being fired."
Anglin also "urged his followers to seek Ms. Gersh out in person: 'And hey – if you're in the area, maybe you should stop by and tell her in person what you think of her actions.'"
Anglin has since published 30 stories similar to the first, and most of them "urge his readers to continue their harassment of Ms. Gersh and her family and associates,” the lawsuit said. He has called Jews "a vicious diseased race of evil monsters" and "a terrorist group."
The publisher also has targeted Gersh’s husband and son, calling the boy a “scamming little kike” and “creepy little faggot.” “A Twitter user with the handle ‘Kaiser Wilhelm II,’ the name of an anti-Semitic German emperor, tagged Ms. Gersh’s son in a tweet that read, ‘psst, kid, theres a free Xbox One inside this oven.’ The tweet included a photograph of an oven.”
Another image titled "Daily Stormer Presents" shows pictures of Gersh, her child, and two other Whitefish residents who also are Jewish superimposed on a picture of the Auschwitz concentration camp; the complaint includes the image. Anglin also posted a threatening image of an armored soldier with shield depicting a crossed-out star of David; the soldier pulls the tongue of a monster and the image was captioned, "Be a White Warrior and Help Smite the Parasite."
As a result of Anglin's provocations and the ensuing harassment, Gersh's physical appearance has changed with weight gain and hair loss, the complaint said. For the first time, it said, her doctor has prescribed antidepressants, Valium, and acupuncture.
"Andrew Anglin knew he had an online army primed to attack with the click of a mouse. We intend to hold him accountable for the suffering he has caused Ms. Gersh and to send a strong message to those who use their online platforms as weapons of intimidation."
Updated: Southern Poverty Law Center, Whitefish woman take on Daily Stormer | Montana & Regional | missoulian.com