The Other McCain

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UPDATED: Aaron Walker Granted Emergency Order in Maryland Hearing, Calls Ruling ‘Important Victory’

Posted on | June 25, 2012 | 68 Comments

FROM AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
At a hearing this morning in Rockville, Maryland, a Montgomery County Circuit Court granted an emergency motion on behalf of attorney/blogger Aaron Walker. The effect of the ruling will permit Walker to resume writing and speaking about convicted terrorist bomber Brett Kimberln.

Judge Nelson W. Rupp Jr. presided over today’s hearing, with attorney Reginald W. Bours III representing Walker, who did not attend the hearing at Judicial Center in Rockville. In a brief telephone interview, Walker said that Kimberlin filed a counter-motion that did not address the First Amendment legal issues at stake, but rather “made a bunch of new accusations” against Walker.

It is important to note that Judge Rupp’s ruling only temporarily permits Walker to speak and write about Kimberlin, pending a July 5 hearing in Maryland state appeals court. Walker is appealing a May 29 ruling by Montgomery County District Court Judge C.J. Vaughey that granted a peace order sought by Kimberlin against Walker.

Walker said he plans to file a report on today’s hearing at his blog, Allergic to Bull. A Virginia attorney, Walker has become the center of national attention since May 17, when he published a 28,000-word blog post entitled, “How Brett Kimberlin Tried to Frame Me for a Crime (And How You Can Help!).” Walker’s post highlighted Kimberlin’s long-running efforts harass and intimidate bloggers who had written about Kimberlin’s criminal history.

Kimberlin is director of a 501(c) non-profit, the Justice Through Music Project, which has collected more than $1.8 million in contributions since 2005. Kimberlin also co-founded another tax-exempt activist group, Velvet Revolution, that has made headlines (and raised money) by making accusations of wrongdoing against a variety of public figures, including GOP strategist Karl Rove, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and the late Andrew Breitbart.

In addition to his appeal in Maryland state courts, Walker has filed for an emergency preliminary injunction in federal court.

As the legal blog Popehat notes, UCLA Law Professor (and popular blogger) Eugene Volokh has agreed to provide pro bono assistance to Walker’s legal defense team. University of Tennessee Law Professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds, whose blog Instapundit is one of the most popular center-right sites, has also shown strong support for Walker.

Patrick “Patterico” Frey also promises to provide more commentary about the Walker-Kimberlin case. Walker, writing under the pseudonym “Aaron Worthing,” was formerly a co-blogger at Patterico.com, a popular conservative site.

Award-winning conservative blogger Ace of Spades comments on today’s Maryland ruling. Ace was one of the targets of an escalating pattern of harassment against bloggers that evidently began last year, during the Anthony Weiner cybersex scandal.

Democrat “social media” consultant Neal Rauhauser has described Kimberlin as a “client.” Rauhauser evidently joined forces with Kimberlin’s Velvet Revolution group last summer and is suspected of involvement with a Web site, originally aimed at “exposing” Breitbart, which published items indicating an ongoing effort to determine the offline identity of Ace. The anti-Breitbart site has been repeatedly published personal information (including home addresses) of bloggers who wrote about Brett Kimberlin’s criminal past.

Rauhauser became obsessed with a conspiracy theory explanation of the so-called WeinerGate scandal, which resulted in a formerly popular Democratic congressman from New York resigning in disgrace. Rauhauser has boasted of his connections to the criminal computer-hacking ring known as “Anonymous.”

Both Mike Stack, who played a key role in exposing Weiner, and Patterico — blamed as a prime suspect in Rauhauser’s conspiracy theory of the WeinerGate scandal — were targeted by a harassment tactic known as SWATting, a dangerous criminal hoax. In a May 25 blog post, Patterico named Rauhauser, Kimberlin and former Raw Story editor Ron Brynaert among those he suspects of complicity in the bogus 911 call that resulted in a police raid on Patterico’s Los Angeles home.

Aaron Walker describes his own situation: “An Important Victory For Freedom of Expression,” which includes a link to Judge Rupp’s order. Aaron says to expect further updates.

(Note: This article was originally posted at 10:46 a.m. ET as a single paragraph, and subsequently updated seven times over the course of three hours as new information was added. I have now removed the “update” notices for ease of reading.)

UPDATE 10 p.m. ET: Aaron Walker was SWATted tonight.

Robert Stacy McCain, Whereabouts Unknown

 

 


Comments

68 Responses to “UPDATED: Aaron Walker Granted Emergency Order in Maryland Hearing, Calls Ruling ‘Important Victory’”

  1. Leroy Oddswatch
    June 25th, 2012 @ 3:43 pm

     I suppose I can protest all day that I’m not a troll.  How about this:

    http://brettkimberlin.blogspot.com/

    Yup, that’s mine.

    And, to be perfectly clear, “Leroy Oddswatch” is a pseudonym.

  2. Adjoran
    June 25th, 2012 @ 3:49 pm

    Someone should obtain the text of Kimberlin’s filing.  If he indeed used the opportunity to make new accusations, it belies the myth that he is some sort of brilliant jailhouse lawyer.  Even the amateur armchair lawyer at home knows that you can’t respond to a motion to enjoin enforcement of an order with new evidence, you must argue the point of law.

    The Norton man is the one who took pictures of Kimberlin’s house and car and was madly pursued on the highway by the Mad Bomber himself.  How he obtained the man’s identity from the license plate on his car may be interesting – as I recall Virginia only allows that information to LE without a court order.

  3. The #BrettKimberlin Report D+31: Judge Hits Unmute Button On Aaron Walker « The Camp Of The Saints
    June 25th, 2012 @ 3:49 pm

    […] McCain has filed a report on this that he keeps updating.  A highlight: FROM AN UNDISCLOSED […]

  4. JeffS
    June 25th, 2012 @ 4:19 pm

     True, but he can’t say wasn’t offered aid and assistance.

  5. Bob Belvedere
    June 25th, 2012 @ 4:21 pm

    I believe it is that way in most states, althouth it’s always ‘interesting’ how PI’s obtain such info so easily.

  6. JeffS
    June 25th, 2012 @ 4:24 pm

     Thank you — with professional trolls sniffing around this joint, it pays to be careful.

    And I can’t say if they are related — insufficient data.  Certainly it’s possible.   But without more evidence, it’s just speculation. 

    Although I still chuckle at the thought of BK enraged at a drive by photography….

  7. JeffS
    June 25th, 2012 @ 4:28 pm

     OK, I see Adjoran responded — I missed his comment until I went to the next page.

  8. McGehee
    June 25th, 2012 @ 5:18 pm

    You might even post it yourself, if you have to.

  9. Bob Belvedere
    June 25th, 2012 @ 6:11 pm

    What JeffS wrote.

  10. #NealRauhauser Thinks He’s A “Tail Dragger”, But He Can’t Wipe Out His Tracks « That Mr. G Guy's Blog
    June 25th, 2012 @ 6:22 pm

    […] course, Stacy McCain is all over this story. Here are a few details; FROM AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION At a hearing this […]

  11. Pablo
    June 25th, 2012 @ 7:07 pm
  12. BigFurHat
    June 25th, 2012 @ 7:56 pm

    Aaron Worthing was just swatted.
    Go to Twitter ASAP.

  13. Aaron Walker SWATted? : The Other McCain
    June 25th, 2012 @ 9:44 pm

    […] AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION The escalating insanity has apparently reached new heights. Just when Aaron Walker achieved a court victory — this:  Readers will excuse the intensity of my reaction, but I simply cannot […]

  14. FOAF
    June 25th, 2012 @ 10:27 pm

    “Breitbot”, that’s cute.  Bet you had to screw up every bit of your one-digit IQ to come up with that gem.

  15. BlueRidgeForum » Another Swatting! But Who Else in the GOP ‘Will Keep the Bridge?’
    June 26th, 2012 @ 8:20 pm

    […] Other McCain (himself a Hagerstown, Maryland refugee from harassment for political speech) pointed us to Patterico’s report of late yesterday- […]

  16. ‘The Gaped Crusader’: Brett Kimberlin Associate Neal Rauhauser Stalked and Taunted SWATting Victim Patrick Frey : The Other McCain
    June 27th, 2012 @ 10:13 pm

    […] against bloggers in an attempt to slience his critics. In a Maryland court hearing Tuesday, Judge Nelson W. Rupp Jr. issued an emergency ruling that lifted a gag order that had prevented Aaron Walker from blogging about Kimberlin, who responded by filing his own […]

  17. Convicted Perjurer Brett Kimberlin Has 8:30 a.m. Hearing in Maryland Today : The Other McCain
    June 29th, 2012 @ 9:07 am

    […] about the Kimberlin case, was SWATted last month, and Aaron Walker was SWATted Monday after he won a Maryland courtroom victory against Kimberlin. Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Texas Rep. Kenny Marchant and more than 85 House […]

  18. Brandon Darby Defamed by Kimberlin Associate Neal Rauhauser; Pursues ‘All Legal Remedies’ Against SWATting Charge : The Other McCain
    July 3rd, 2012 @ 1:01 pm

    […] Kimberlin case, reported that he was SWATted in May, and Aaron Walker was SWATted June 25 after he won a Maryland courtroom victory against Kimberlin. Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Texas Rep. Kenny Marchant and more than 85 House […]