Dear reader, I am going to
confess to you today that I was holding something back. You might have watched these peace order
hearings and wondered why we were piddling around with those issues. You might have even heard that Mr. Hoge’s
second attempt to get a peace order was denied today, a fact I will write about
later. A reasonable reader might wonder
what this was all about.
Well, there was indeed something
much more serious going on and that has to do with the least-talked-about
charge: unauthorized access to a computer.
That is, on February 18, 2013, Mr. Hoge filed charges against Bill
Schmalfeldt based on his unauthorized access to a computer. So what is that all about?
What it is about, dear reader, is
SWATting. Or more precisely a threat to
SWAT someone.
So there are three things to note, here. First, that was not left by Karen
B. a.k.a. The Lonely Conservative (whom I had the pleasure of meeting at
CPAC). No, but you can see the IP Address
of the user. And as you know, the IP
address would be unique to a particular account.
And second, it is a threat. As I have said before—and
in the process of correcting Schmalfeldt—threats do not have to be as
explicit as “I am going to kill you.” It
can be, “you better pay your protection money, or it might be hazardous to your
health.”
And third, this was specifically in
response to this
post, which talked about Jeffrey Cohen, Esq. the executive director of
Justice Through Music and Velvet Revolution.
In the criminal complaint, Hoge notes that he was blogging about “financial
irregularities on the IRS Form 990’s... and apparent lack of proper
registration of his charities fund-raising with the MD Secretary of State.” So it seems reasonable to think that this
might be what prompted the threat.
Well, someone else is known to
use that IP Address. Who? Well, that would be the self-described “friend”
of Brett Kimberlin, Bill Schmalfeldt.
So let’s review the evidence
shall we? We have had four SWATtings,
all of people who have angered or criticized Brett Kimberlin at one time or
another. Three of them were done by a voice
that in my opinion sounds like Kimberlin associate Ron Brynaert (listen
for yourself and make up your own mind).
As for the fourth, my own, I am still being asked to be quiet about it,
so think of that what you will, except I will say it was not Brett Kimberlin’s
voice (but I never expected it to be).
And now we have a SWATting threat by person using the IP address associated
with another Kimberlin associate, Bill Schmalfeldt.
So either this is all a giant
coincidence... or Brett Kimberlin has been ordering some or all of these SWATtings,
particularly mine. Again, it wasn’t him
making the call—I am certain of that—but unless this is a giant coincidence, this
would seem to be him ordering it.
I didn’t want to share this with
you before now, dear reader, because at all times the priority is the criminal
cases not the reporting. I want
Kimberlin brought to justice more than I want to write bad (but true) things
about it, but at this point in time, I don’t believe it will harm that search
for justice.
So, dear reader, in this we have the
strongest evidence yet that Brett Kimberlin was involved in the SWATtings,
including my own. Indeed I am personally
convinced, though you might reasonably require more proof.
And that is what has been lurking
underneath those charges for the last few weeks.
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Sidebar: So how does all of this add up to unauthorized access to a
computer? Because the attempted comment represents
a violation of the terms of service for both Hogewash and Wordpress
generally. Simply put Wordpress’ terms
of service are violated both by impersonating another person, and of course by threatening
someone, and Hogewash’s terms of service also prohibits the same by
incorporating the Wordpress terms of service.
So since it was access to their
computers (that is, dear reader, what you are doing every time you comment or
blog on Wordpress), and it was in violation of the terms of service, that meant
that the access was unauthorized.
That may seem cheap but using
such prosecutorial hooks have a long history.
Consider, for instance, the prosecution of Al Capone. Everyone knew he was a gangster, but because
of whatever reason they couldn’t convict him in state court for being a
gangster (probably due to corruption).
So they got him on a Federal charge of tax evasion. Likewise, it would be nice if Maryland had a
more direct general “threat” statute that would be triggered by this act, but
they don’t and this is a way to get around that shortcoming (other ways include
using the harassment and stalking statutes).
The Maryland legislature needs to fill in this gap in the law, but in
the meantime, this is the kind of thing prosecutors do to get around the issue.
Oh, and by the way, what is the punishment for unauthorized use of a computer? Up to five years in prison.
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My wife and I have lost our jobs
due to the harassment of convicted terrorist Brett Kimberlin, including an
attempt to get us killed and to frame me for a crime carrying a sentence of up
to ten years. I know that claim sounds
fantastic, but if you read starting here, you will see absolute proof of these
claims using documentary and video evidence.
If you would like to help in the fight to hold Mr. Kimberlin accountable,
please hit the Blogger’s Defense Team button on the right. And thank you.
Follow me at Twitter @aaronworthing,
mostly for snark and site updates. And
you can purchase my book (or borrow it for free if you have Amazon Prime), Archangel: A Novel of Alternate, Recent
History here.
And you can read a little more about my novel, here.
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Disclaimer:
I have accused some people,
particularly Brett Kimberlin, of
reprehensible conduct. In some cases, the conduct is even
criminal. In all cases, the only justice I want is through the
appropriate legal process—such as the criminal justice system. I do not want to see vigilante violence
against any person or any threat of such violence. This kind of conduct is not only morally
wrong, but it is counter-productive.
In the particular case of Brett
Kimberlin, I do not want you to even contact him. Do not call him. Do not write him a letter. Do not write him an email. Do not text-message him. Do not engage in any kind of directed
communication. I say this in part
because under Maryland law, that can quickly become harassment and I don’t want
that to happen to him.
And for that matter, don’t go on
his property. Don’t sneak around and try
to photograph him. Frankly try not to
even be within his field of vision. Your
behavior could quickly cross the line into harassment in that way too (not to
mention trespass and other concerns).
And do not contact his
organizations, either. And most of all, leave his family alone.
The only exception to all that is
that if you are reporting on this, there is of course nothing wrong with
contacting him for things like his official response to any stories you might
report. And even then if he tells you to
stop contacting him, obey that request.
That this is a key element in making out a harassment claim under
Maryland law—that a person asks you to stop and you refuse.
And let me say something
else. In my heart of hearts, I don’t
believe that any person supporting me has done any of the above. But if any of you have, stop it, and if you
haven’t don’t start.
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