Sometimes, you just have to fight back. This is a personal note that goes along with the recent news of the bullying of Dr. Susan Crockford and Dr. Judith Curry.
Thanks to the Chico Police Department and officer Jim Parrott, I learned today that we were able to shut down a person living in Windsor Ontario who has been serially harassing me and threatening me and my family for over a year. He was doing this because of my views on “climate change” and my website: https://wattsupwiththat.com
Officer Parrott reached out to the Windsor Police Department (Constable Strong in the WPD Major Crimes Unit) and provided him all the research I’d gathered (including setting up an Internet “honeypot” to trap him) and today we get word back that the suspect has been identified, and has had police officers show up at his front door.
This particularly malicious troll is one of the “Arctic sea ice zealots” that inhabit Jim Hunt’s “Great White Con” website on sea ice. Both Jim and this troll were long ago banned from WUWT for serially bad behavior breaking our commenting policy multiple times, but this one troll couldn’t let it go. He escalated, and continued to do so.
Of course, the troll embraced the crazy and patently wrong views promoted by Dr. Michael Mann and many others that I’m an “agent of the Koch brothers, and on the take to run WUWT”.
As I’ve said many times in the past, I’ve never taken a dime from the Koch’s; they don’t even know who I am. WUWT is entirely supported by advertising and donations.
My opinions published here and the opinions of guest authors is entirely our own, and not “for hire” as some weak-minded people assert. One of these days, Dr. Mann is going to find himself on the wrong end of a lawsuit for promoting these falsehoods that incite people like I’ve had to deal with for over a year. In fact, this particular troll claimed he had enlisted Dr. Mann as part of his plan to “expose me” (the troll’s words). He also said he’d enlisted Sou aka Miriam O’Brien of Hotwhopper in his cause against me. Of course, it turned out to be nothing but bluster, but wow, this guy had quite an imagination and hatred for me in his heart.
Thanks to the work of the Windsor Police Department and the Chico Police Department, this malicious Internet troll won’t be bothering me again.
Thanks also to a number of bloggers who helped me zoom in on this guy by sharing information. Thanks also to “Poptech” whose research was very helpful. Great thanks to our own “Charles the Moderator” who helped me stay calm and focused on the “long game” rather than let this toad get under my skin.
Its quite a feeling of satisfaction to [get some action on] this case, especially since this dirtbag had assumed multiple identities, used fake emails, and other techniques to hide his identity. Much like some of the other trolls we deal with here daily, but this one stepped over the line, time and time again.
For example here are excerpts from a long rambling email I received (along with Charles the Moderator who was helping me) Tuesday, November 07, 2017 4:28 PM
Great news perverted WOMEN HATERS;)
(Saul pulled it off and remained invisible, aren’t you impressed, my two little twinkies? Hehehe, just 11 followers)
NOVEMBER 12th 2017
This is just one of dozens of crazy emails with threats I received over the last year and a half. Some contained thinly veiled death threats, some like this one were irrational rants, some were incomprehensible references to things he “knew” but I had no idea what the hell he was talking about. The reference to November 12th in this email was a “drop dead date” for an extortion attempt (I was supposed to donate to the Canadian organization Medicine Sans Frontiers aka doctors without borders to avoid my exposure of “Koch dollars”). Of course, I’m not easily extorted, because I knew this jerk was just making things up out of his own Koch-fueled imagination.
My mistake was originally treating him with respect over a complaint he had about WUWT, and replying using my personal email. That was a dumb move of trust on my part that I won’t repeat again.
So, we nailed him. Despite his cowardice and shapeshifting, we prevailed, and we used his own stupidity against him to trap him in the “honeypot” so a positive ID could be made.
I won’t share the technique I devised, but it’s safe to say he had no idea what hit him when officers showed up at his door in Windsor. While it is very very tempting to share the file I have on him thanks to the police, I’ve learned long ago that “discretion is the greater part of valor“. I’ll just keep it handy, just in case I need to exercise my rights further.
Right Thomas? aka “Lawrence Martin”, aka “Reggie”, aka “Reginald Perrin” aka “Saul from Montreal”, aka “Solomon Gursky”, aka “Master of Space and Thyme” among others… here’s a partial photo of Thomas the troll from the file:
In the meantime, potential dirtbags that might be thinking of threatening me or my family or any other climate skeptic should think again. We won’t tolerate it. Climate skeptics are fed up with the threats and smears as we’ve seen against Dr. Curry and Dr. Crockford, and we aren’t going to take it anymore.
So, in closing…
Troll, troll, troll your boat gently down the stream…
Merrily, merrily, merrily merrily, anonymity is but a dream.
UPDATE:
BTW, I forgot to add this note. There’s precedence for arresting Internet trolls in Canada, such as this notorious one who got 16 counts and a psych evaluation:
https://pandasthumb.org/archives/2011/08/prolific-intern.html
Congrats Anthony for outing a tolerant and peaceful and nature loving and climate protecting leftist.
I’m sorry he was Canadian
He’s right down there with TreuDumb and katy wynne.
‘The fall and rise of Reginald Perrin’ was a very popular sitcom in the UK a few decades ago.
Anthony and Charles, so very sorry you had all this to deal with. Well done on catching him. I couldn’t make head or tail of that diatribe above…medical problems? Whatever is up with him, he should not be on the loose to harass and threaten decent people. Best wishes, Annie.
My deepest appreciation to you Anthony for providing the world’s top skeptic(of catastrophic human caused climate change) site. The diversity and quality of articles and posters here is in a league of its own.
The only bad thing personally is that it’s so good, that reading articles/posts and sometimes commenting here has been elevated to a level of priority in my life that I forget to eat and drink on some days…………just kidding.
Seriously, the reward of bringing together, an elite level of skeptical minds for the world to be part of is unmatched.
You know this of course but it’s nice to know even more, how much others appreciate it when 1 troublemaker can try to offset all of it with tactics similar to this character.
Congrats on identifying and confronting him. Another example of assertiveness in fighting back against those that want to impose their belief system on others.
Nice job Anthony.
I haven’t had any death threats since I stopped blogging. Don’t miss that as much as I thought I would 😀
We miss you and your blogging!
Anthony, so sorry you have had to endure what must have been an horrendous experience. No wonder you needed time off! I am pleased the police took this seriously. In the UK our police put political correctness before doing their duty and I am pleasantly surprised that the Canadian police didn’t do the same, given their governments support over “Green” policies. Hysteria is always confined to questioning a belief as opposed to logic questioning science, if that is small consolation?.
I take it we’ll have an unequivocal condemnation of this CAGW supporter’s disgraceful conduct from Nick Stokes, Sea Ice et al any moment now……….
Congratulations on getting rid of such problem, Anthony. Nobody should have to endure it. The law enforcement doesn’t prevent us from becoming a victim, it just puts an end to it.
This particular form of manifestation of mental illness is not exclusive of climate alarmism, and in fact prominent alarmists might get their own loonies, being harassed and threatened by crazed “deni3rs.” We all know that every prominent internet site, no matter its subject and opinion, has to deal with internet trolls. It is the price of prominence in a world with instant communication that has a share of its population with mental problems.
The only way to get rid of these people (Trolls) is to hit back hard (legally). No person should have to suffer threats, where Internet-based or not.
It should be mandatory that the police contact his employer to inform them of the Troll’s habits. And what business does a middle-aged man have being an Internet Troll? He should be out working in a soup kitchen or teaching his Grand-Daughter how to read.
Made my day!
Sorry that it came down to this kind of extreme action, but if there were legitimately legal threats, it was the right move.
Sadly, instead of getting the help he needs, it could set him off even worse in the future, or he could even become a cause celebre. That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have been confronted like this though.
Thank you Anthony, et al. WUWT (ie you and your incredible “staff”) do an incredible service to those of us who just want to see a civil, rational and respectful discussion of the complex issues brought up by this blog. As I scroll through the various comments, I see one glaring omission…not a single apology from any of the usual suspect “warmists” that this kind of behavior is simply unacceptable, and should not be tolerated.
I have donated $50 to WUWT. In the big scheme of things, a token. But I am a real believer that if you want to change or influence events, it starts with me.
My name is Ethan Brand, I live in Roscommon Michigan. I fully support Anthony Watts and WUWT for what it stands for and enourages. The kind of behavior exhibited by the subject troll is NOT acceptable. Period.
+100
I’ve always asked my internet opponents to at least round the corner towards coherency before I waste my time responding. Bless you Anthony for putting up with this, I hope you get an outcome satisfactory to you.
As a side-note: I post (semi) anonymously because waaaaay back in my Usenet days, when I was “debating” dbags like William Connolly, I used my real name. Then, my estranged wife started getting phone calls (I was living elsewhere at the time).
I can’t describe the joy of having to explain what the internet was (this was the early 90s, pre-WWW) first to my non-very happy soon-to-be-ex, then to a judge during a child custody battle…
Good work! This reminds me of having to deal with a particularly noxious troll that called itself “jadegold” a few years ago. These people seem to not realize the very medium which they are using can be used against them.
The guy exhibits the signs of schizophrenia. If he is not diagnosed to this point, you have probably done him a huge favor. If they get his medication balance right, he’ll probably be embarrassed by his own behavior.
Spot on diagnosis. He won’t self medicate.
“….In the meantime, potential dirtbags that might be thinking of threatening me or my family or any other climate skeptic should think again. We won’t tolerate it. Climate skeptics are fed up with the threats and smears as we’ve seen against Dr. Curry and Dr. Crockford, and we aren’t going to take it anymore….”
From the motion picture ‘Network’…
Hi Anthony, and congratulations on having this troll identified.
I suggest you are being to kind to this troll and you should publicly name him, in order to discourage similar threatening conduct by others. This threatening conduct is not only upsetting, it can be dangerous, and that risk should be recognized and strongly discouraged.
Dr. Tim Ball has been subjected to many death threats, and so have other climate scientists who have spoken out against false global warming alarmism. I received one such threat back in 2002 (it was rather lame, and I feel underappreciated).
I am not at liberty to divulge details, but one highly respected scientist I know had the family dog taken from the yard and killed – that scientist is convinced that this was not a random event, but was a targeted attack due to that scientist’s public statements opposing global warming alarmism.
There are global warming alarmists and there are the thugs who they encourage with their strident falsehoods. This stopped being about science decades ago, when some fraudster first said “the science is settled”.
Global warming alarmism is a leftist political movement, as best described by Dr. Patrick Moore, a co-founder of Greenpeace in his 1994 essay, excerpted below. Moore states that after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the environmental movement was taken over by Marxists… and evolved into the watermelon outfit it is today. Read “The Rise of Eco-Extremism” below.
Best regards and Best Wishes to all for the Holidays.
– Allan MacRae
http://ecosense.me/2012/12/30/key-environmental-issues-4/
THE RISE OF ECO-EXTREMISM
Two profound events triggered the split between those advocating a pragmatic or “liberal” approach to ecology and the new “zero-tolerance” attitude of the extremists. The first event, mentioned previously, was the widespread adoption of the environmental agenda by the mainstream of business and government. This left environmentalists with the choice of either being drawn into collaboration with their former “enemies” or of taking ever more extreme positions. Many environmentalists chose the latter route. They rejected the concept of “sustainable development” and took a strong “anti-development” stance.
SURPRISINGLY ENOUGH THE SECOND EVENT THAT CAUSED THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT TO VEER TO THE LEFT WAS THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL. SUDDENLY THE INTERNATIONAL PEACE MOVEMENT HAD A LOT LESS TO DO. PRO-SOVIET GROUPS IN THE WEST WERE DISCREDITED. MANY OF THEIR MEMBERS MOVED INTO THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT BRINGING WITH THEM THEIR ECO-MARXISM AND PRO-SANDINISTA SENTIMENTS.
THESE FACTORS HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO A NEW VARIANT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT THAT IS SO EXTREME THAT MANY PEOPLE, INCLUDING MYSELF, BELIEVE ITS AGENDA IS A GREATER THREAT TO THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT THAN THAT POSED BY MAINSTREAM SOCIETY.
************************
typo “too kind”
Allan you are not far off. In my 30 plus year profession I was required to work with the environmental movement at all levels, local, state, national and international. Early on the environmental movement and radical socialists could find no common ground. As the Soviet Union began to collapse, and that was well before 1990, funding and training of radical socialists in the West began to dramatically decline. About the same time several things happened. Groups of younger socialists began to approach environmental groups at the local level trying to gain a foothold in the larger organization at the state or national level. Meanwhile younger and far more inpatient environmentalists began to go radical, think of the monkey wrench gang movement. Remember that prior to 9-11-2001 the US terror assessment had radical environmental terrorists and animal rights radicals as the most serious domestic threat. Then along came CAGW. Suddenly there was common ground as they or at least their leaders saw it now there was common ground, a common enemy. Environmentalists blamed corporations and therefore capitalism as the biggest threat to mother earth. For radical socialists capitalism had always been the ultimate evil. So today we face the combined forces of these groups. There is cross fertilization between boards, funding sources, and planning. Staff from one group may work as board members on another. Funding is washed through one group to another. What is truly bizarre is that some of these same groups have now allied themselves with radical Islamists. I just wonder whether or not the troll after Anthony was on somebodies payroll. I know on some blogs they are.
I have communicated with Patrick Moore on a number of issues. I complimented him on this1994 essay. His reply was “I think I nailed it.” I agreed.
As Windsor is my hometown, I’m sorry this is your exposure to it. That being said, I’m glad the Cops were good!! Too bad you won’t/can’t reveal his name. He looks like he might be about my age and Windsor’s a pretty small town. That being said, this Windsorite (no longer living there), loves the work you do
Cheers
Stay safe out there. One commonality among doomsday cults is that they often seek self-fulfilling prophecy. So if the sky isn’t falling on its own, expect at least a few of these certifiables to make it so.
As per “State of Fear” by Michael Crichton (read it last month).
Yes, finally read it recently as well. Too true to be made into a movie today, but maybe when all bad producers, directors and writers get caught up in the Pervnado, real stories could be told again.
And, yes, the rhetoric coming from the warmunists does sound very much like something that would come from someone sounding very much like Jim Jones.
He needs to be reported to tax officials for all the unreported income associated with paid trolling for dollars.
Congratulations Anthony. Well done! One malevolent troll down, lots more to go. Hope this guy gets the mental health care he clearly needs and that strong restrictions are put on his future abilities to harm others and himself.
Paraphrasing from Knight’s Tale:
CTM: You have been weighed.
Willis: You have been measured.
Officer Parrot: And you have absolutely…
Chaucer: Been found wanting.
Gracious Host: Welcome to New World. God save you, if it is right that He should do so.
Wow. Just wow. Whole lot of crazy packed into such a small space.
Anthony, why not reveal the full pic of this troll along with his real name and address? An email would be useful too.
Let him learn that what goes around can come around.
I have my reasons, respect them. All in good time.