Racist troll who harassed Black college student agrees to renounce white supremacy
A racist internet troll who harassed a Black American University student on social media has agreed to a court settlement requiring him to get “anti-hate training,” and apologize in writing, on video and publicly renounce white supremacy.
According to the Associated Press, the racist website The Daily Stormer directed its racist readers to harass Taylor Dumpson, now a 22-year-old law school student, who had become the first black woman to serve as American University’s student government president.
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The all-out racist campaign against Dumpson included bananas being strung up on nooses on campus. One of the bananas said “Harambe bait,” referring to the gorilla who was fatally shot at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2016.
Another racist Daily Stormer supporter, Evan James McCarty of Oregon, tweeted “OOGA BOOGA” at Dumpson, according to the lawsuit. McCarty on Twitter under the nickname “Byron de la Vandal,” a reference to Byron De La Beckwith, the man who murdered Medgar Evers in 1963.
Her lawsuit, which was filed in April, names Daily Stormer Publisher Andrew Anglin, McCarty, and Brian Ade as co-defendants. McCarty’s parents apologized for their son’s racism.
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“Evan, our son, feels deep regret about his actions and is committed to making changes and moving forward in a positive way,” Deb and James McCarty said in a statement. “At this time, he is focused on continuing to make progress, pursuing his degree, contributing to his community and committed to making amends.”
The terms of the settlement sat that McCarty will participate in at least one year of anti-hate sessions with a licensed therapist, take and finish four academic courses studying race and gender, and do 200 hours of community service in areas that emphasize “racial justice and civil rights.”
“I guess I was open to the idea that even the perpetrator of a racially motivated act of bias could still be more or less reformed,” Dumpson said. This is the second time in as many years that the website has been sued for racist harassment.
In April 2017, Tanya Gersh sued The Daily Stormer for urging followers to launch a harassment campaign. After Anglin directed his readers to harass Gersh, who is Jewish, she received threatening emails and calls.
Anglin sought to hide behind the First Amendment and have the case dismissed, but a judge said anti-Semitic harassment was not protected by the Constitution.
