Target of online trolls sues neo-Nazi site’s founder
A Montana real estate agent sued the founder of a neo-Nazi website on Tuesday, saying the publisher orchestrated an anti-Semitic “campaign of terror” that bombarded the woman and her family with hateful messages from anonymous internet trolls.
The barrage of emails, phone calls, texts and social media comments threatened and harassed Tanya Gersh and her family — including her 12-year-old son — with messages replete with slurs and Holocaust references, according to the federal lawsuit.
The trolling campaign started in December after Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin published the family’s personal information, including the 12-yearold’s Twitter handle and photo. In a string of posts, Anglin accused Gersh and other Jewish residents of Whitefish, Mont., of engaging in an “extortion racket” against white nationalist Richard Spencer’s mother.
Gersh’s lawsuit said she agreed to help Spencer’s mother sell commercial property she owns in Whitefish amid talk of a protest outside the building. Sherry Spencer, however, later accused Gersh of threatening and harassing her into agreeing to sell the property.
Gersh, 44, told The Associated Press that she has been so scared for her family’s safety that she packed a bag and left it on her bedroom floor for three months in case they decided to flee their home.
Gersh is represented by the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups. Her suit accuses Anglin of invading her privacy, intentionally inflicting “emotional distress” and violating Montana law.
Her suit, filed in Missoula, Mont., seeks unspecified damages against Anglin, who didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.