A Brett Kimberlin situation “could happen to you”

A Brett Kimberlin situation “could happen to you”

A Brett Kimberlin situation “could happen to you”

Posted by William A. Jacobson    Friday, May 25, 2012 at 11:36am 

 

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There is a lot out there today about Brett Kimberlin, who either himself or through supporters has been going after various conservative bloggers who have called attention to his past.
You already know about Aaron Walker.
A must read post, and I mean MUST READ, is by Patrick Frey a/k/a Patterico, and the hell he and his family have had to go through including “swatting,” where a false report of a murder was made to his home address in the hope the police SWAT team would arrive with guns drawn.  That’s not the half of it, there have been false Bar ethics complaints, lawsuits, complaints to his employer, and other assorted harrassments directed at Frey and his wife.
The whole story is just unbelievable.  Here’s Frey’s conclusion:

What you have just read is a summary. I have lived this daily — literally daily — for almost a year. There are pieces of evidence I didn’t have room to include. There is so much evidence of harassment it would take you weeks to read about it all.
What’s more, I know that this post is going to result in more harassment. I will almost certainly be sued, despite my careful efforts to stick to the facts. There will likely be more complaints to my workplace.
And I have a feeling they’ll find creative new ways to try to rip my life apart.
As an aside, I have listened to Brett Kimberlin in court audio, saying he meets with Congressmen on a regular basis. I want to make sure these Congressmen know what he’s doing.
I have appreciated the support I have felt in recent days, with people like Michelle Malkin, Instapundit, Stacy McCain, Ace, and many others stepping up and being willing to take on this topic.
It is my hope that the support of the blogosphere will not melt away after today. Because the harassment will almost certainly live on.
It’s an important battle to take on. And I want to stress that this should not be a partisan issue. I believe Brett Kimberlin uses lefty politics as a tool — but he doesn’t believe any of it in his heart. He is looking for a buck. I have been heartened to see left-leaning people of all stripes stand up to this guy in the past, from Mark Singer, the author of Citizen K; to Ken Ashford, who refused to give up Aaron Walker’s identity; to the left-leaning lawyer who represented Aaron pro bono.
It is my hope that left-leaning blogs will recognize that this is not a partisan issue. It is a free speech issue.
Remember how I said one of my commenters was outed? And this crew started talking about his parents? And his divorce records? For being a commenter of mine?
What happened to me could literally happen to anyone. It could happen to you.
If you take nothing else from this post, remember that. It could happen to you.

For more on Robert Stacy McCain’s predicament, check out not only his blog, but also the interview he gave John Hawkins:

Monday afternoon, my wife came in and informed me Kimberlin had been in contact with her employer. It was evident then and has since become more evident that Kimberlin knew where we lived. His contact with my wife’s employer resulted in a security alert as soon as they found out who this guy was and they recognized the implicit threat.

There are many more links at Instapundit, Michelle Malkin and Lonely Conservative.
The National Bloggers Club has set up a donation site, but consider hitting the tip jars for Patterico and Robert Stacy McCain (couldn’t find one for Walker directly).  I just did.