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US Society
The Problem of Hate
Neo-Nazis 'troll' stormed a black student leader in D.C. She just won $725K in her case against them ... Taylor Dumpson is a senior at American University majoring in law and society with a minor in sociology.
Burgess COMMENTARY
Peter Burgess
Neo-Nazis 'troll' stormed a black student leader in D.C. She just won $725K in her case against them
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Taylor Dumpson, the first black woman to serve as student government president at American University in Washington, D.C., has just won $725,000 in court. Why? In short, because Dumpson won a default judgment after the founder of neo-Nazi site the Daily Stormer, Andrew Anglin, and follower Brian Ade, failed to appear in court over allegations that they spurred a massive “troll storm” against Dumpson, making her fear for her safety. Dumpson originally sought $1.8 million between damages, fees, and costs.
Dumpson, who is now a graduate of American, first faced racist harassment and threats the day she took office as student government president back in 2017. On her very first day, several bananas with racist messages were found hanging from nooses on the campus. In fact, they were found near the student government office, and at least one message targeted Dumpson’s sorority. Coincidence? Unlikely. While police investigated the incident, they didn’t find any suspects.
Here’s where Anglin comes in, according to the complaint.
The racist harassment made some local news stories, which apparently Anglin took notice of. The complaint says that Anglin shared an article about the incident on his website. This in itself isn’t harassment. Anglin, however, also included Dumpson’s name, photo, and links to her Facebook account, and then encouraged his followers to “troll storm” Dumpson. As a result of the harassment, Dumpson said she felt unsafe using public spaces at the school, suffered from anxiety that impacted her academics, and was eventually diagnosed with PTSD.
“One of the things that’s important to recognize is that online hate has real-world consequences. We often think of the internet as this wild west where anything goes, and that’s not the case,” David Ryan Brody of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the lead lawyer in the case, told DCist in an interview. “There are laws that apply. And when white supremacists take to the internet to attack people of color there are real consequences that have to be addressed.”
If you’re curious about the specifics of the ruling, here’s how it breaks down. The judge awarded compensatory damages of $101,429.28, punitive damages of $500,000, and then the attorneys’ fees and costs of $124,022.10. In addition to the financials, the judge has also put a restraining order against Anglin, LLC Moonbase Holdings, and Ade. This means that they can’t contact Dumpson or make any public statements about her that are defamatory, intimidating, or harassing.
If you’ve been following Dumpson’s story, you might remember that back in December 2018, Evan McCarty of Oregon, who is one of the defendants named in the suit, settled with an agreement to (basically) apologize to Dumpson. He also had to publicly denounce white supremacy, complete 200 hours of community service at a racial justice organization, and finish “anti-hate” training.
McCarty was one of the people who obeyed Anglin’s order to harass Dumpson online. One example? He sent her a disturbing message with a banana captioned, “Hey, would you like one?” Gross.
“This ruling should send a strong message to other white supremacists that they can and will be held accountable for hateful activity that constitutes unlawful discrimination, no matter whether it occurs online or in the real world,” said Kristen Clarke, the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Dumpson has since graduated from American and begun law school. Also, here she is leading a TEDx talk on inclusion:
From Exclusion to Inclusion | Taylor Dumpson | TEDxAmericanUniversity
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TEDx Talks
Published on Jan 16, 2018
Taylor Dumpson is a senior at American University majoring in law and society with a minor in sociology. She is the 2017-2018 AU Student Government President and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Chapter Vice President and Program Chair. In 2017, Taylor was the victim of a hate crime. Here, she speaks about her experiences and her new normal, along with her vision for moving from exclusion to inclusion. Eastern Shore of Maryland native, Taylor Dumpson, is a rising senior majoring in Law and Society with a minor in Sociology. As an active member of the AU community she serves not only as the 2017-2018 AU Student Government President but also Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Lambda Zeta Chapter's Vice President and Program Chair. She spends a great deal of time focusing on social justice issues concerning girls and women, as well as people of color, truly taking to heart the “Service to All Mankind” component in the purpose of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. In her spare time, Taylor enjoys drawing, painting, and photography. A long term goal of hers to open a non-profit community center the joins local organizations and agencies together under one roof to address issues that occur and to provide resources to community members. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
