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

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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

 

 


68 comments

  3. Sounds like Kimberlin & Co is blowing smoke which is all he as left as the onion continues to be peeled away

  8. Yes there is a hearing on July 5, but that this order was granted is a strong signal that the order will be granted then too.  So this is good news for Aaron Walker and very bad news for Brett Kimberlin and his wife abusing friend Neal Rauhauser.  

  11. Worthing’s first post today:  Kimberlin Kimberlin Kimberlin Kimberlin Kimberlin Kimberlin Kimberlin Kimberlin Kimberlin

  15. Yes, I know all about that case and, in fact, interviewed Norton by phone yesterday. I am informed that Norton today filed his own peace order against Kimberlin, intended to prevent Kimberlin from harassing Norton at his home or workplace.

  16. Isn’t this Rupp guy the judge who would have heard this case in the first place if he weren’t on vacation?

  18. Excellent news all around, even BK’s counter-motion — that reeks of panic, as it’s an attempt to obscure and delay.  

  19. Now that Kimberlin has to deal with a hard-core legal team, ego implosion will ensue.

    Pass the popcorn.

  20.  I don’t care about his bloated ego, I just want to see him certified as a “vexatious litigant” so his unending flow of pro se SLAPP suits gets choked to death.

  21. Actually he filed litigation against another person John Norton which no one knows the story behind that.  But today, John Norton filed back at Kimberlin with the same type of order.  You can look up the cases at the District Court of Montgomery County, Maryland website.

  22. […] BREAKING: Aaron Walker Victory in Maryland Emergency Hearing: 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. […]

  24. […] BREAKING: Aaron Walker Victory in Maryland Emergency Hearing: 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. […]

  25. It amuses me no end to read how you conservatives are “champions of free speech” while you Breitbots get peoples’ Twitter accounts suspended for TOS violations because they disagree with you.  Breitbot, thy name is “HYPOCRITE!”
    {Was going to delete this, but people are having too much fun beating this idiot like a pinata.}

  26. People with Kimberlin’s pathology–when the ego goes, so goes what’s remaining of their sanity. You know, head asplosions and all.

  28. Love how you accuse conservatives of doing exactly what the Left has been doing forever.

    HYPOCRITE your own damned self.

  31. Mr. Schmalfeldt, you know something I have never done? I have never gone into the comment field of a liberal blog and posted some kind of childish “I’m rubber, you’re glue” idiocy in an attempt to use the Left’s bandwidth to spread the Right’s message.

    Don’t you think it’s about time you grow up, you infantile narcissistic twerp?

  32. Note to world:  Please remember that, in Liberal La-La Land,  it’s “freedom of speech” when lefties are slapped down or restrained for their abusive behavior and/or harassment, but “speaking truth to power” when us wingnuts receive said abuse and/or harassment. 

  34. Only because I have seen Lefty-Loos making a deal about this, I would point out that the Patterico call was NOT a 911 call but was rather a call to the Sheriff’s business line…..

    http://patterico.com/2012/05/page/2/

    Some folks have claimed Patterico and his friends are now exagerating the SWATting, as though it really matters where the original call went.

  35.  That guy never identified himself by name that I am aware.  Personally, I thought he was a tad crazy, although I appreciate his willingness to put himself in the (metaphorically speaking) line of fire.  And the picture of BK’s half a peace sign was priceless.

    OTOH, Kimberlin should know the guy’s name, as he wrote down the license plate of the guy’s car, as per the post. 

    What reasons make you ask this question?

  40. Tweets are not comment sections any more than Leftwingnuts are thinking human beings.

    Given the childishness on display, I think it’s pretty obvious why you’re not writing for publication.

  41.  This.

    Over 100 lawsuits filed, and essentially 0-fer the lot.  I’ve heard it said that Maryland has a higher standard than most states for such a designation but if Kimberlin isn’t the textbook case, why bother having the statute at all?  Who would be covered?

  43. Please be sure to note which of Stacy’s posts are “I’m rubber, you’re glue” whines, or a simple response to whatever the subject of the post was. 

    And, yes, there is a difference.

  47.  Yes, he’s the one.  I presume that’s the basis of the peace order Kimberlin filed against him, although taking pictures on public streets isn’t against any law.

  49.  Just putting the pieces together – a “John Norton” got the ban hammer over at Patterico for inappropriate posting that (apparently) was calling for action against Kimberlin.

    Somebody commenting on this site as “Second Timothy” claimed to have taken a picture of notorious speedway bomber Brett Kimberlin giving him the bird.

    Kimberlin files a “peace order” against “John Norton”.

    Are the incidents related?

  50. Looks like it’s all legal . . ….

    An unfortunate tilt. . . . news on the blogs today. As of today, it appears that several provisions of the Arizona immigration law have been struck down while leaving its core component intact. Also, the Supreme Court overturned a Montana law regulatin…

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