In a victory for the First Amendment and citizen journalism, blogger Aaron Walker won a decisive victory over convicted felon and left-wing activist Brett Kimberlin in a Maryland courtroom today. Judge Nelson Rupp ruled that Walker blogging about his belief that Kimberlin framed him for a crime was not harassment, overturning an earlier ruling that stated that Walker, who writes at Allergic To Bull, was not allowed to blog about Brett Kimberlin “in any way.”
In the first hearing, on May 30th, Judge Cornelius Vaughey ruled that blogging about Kimberlin qualified as “contact” with him, and proceeded to order Walker not to write about Kimberlin in any way–including, he added, blogging, tweeting, sending smoke signals, using radar, sonar, or laser.
Today’s hearing was before a new judge, who seemed to be well aware of relevant case law that had been neglected in the prior hearing. The issue was not whether Walker’s claims that Kimberlin had attempted to frame him were true or not, nor did Judge Rupp rule on that issue. The matter before the court was about whether Mr. Walker’s writings on the subject on his own blog were “contact” as defined by Maryland’s peace order statute.
Walker was represented by attorney Reginald Bours, while Kimberlin appeared representing himself. Significantly, Kimberlin was reportedly accompanied by controversial political operative Neal Rauhauser, who handed Kimberlin some documents. Kimberlin and Rauhauser also sat together in the courtroom and were seen together in the halls.
Kimberlin appeared at times during his appearance to be frustrated and angry. For example, when Kimberlin was asked about whether he had any knowledge of Mr. Walker’s recent SWATting, Kimberlin accused attorney Bours of harassing him by even asking the question, which he referred to as “despicable.”
At one point in his presentation, Kimberlin claimed that Walker was trying to build an “Army of Davids,” an apparent reference to An Army of Davids: How Markets and Technology Empower Ordinary People to Beat Big Media, Big Government, and Other Goliaths, the title of a 2006 book by Glenn Reynolds. Reynolds, who blogs as InstaPundit, has linked to the Kimberlin vs. Walker story. In the hearing, Kimberlin indicated that he believed the “Army of Davids” was a Christian militia.
Walker told Breitbart News: “I’m in good spirits. Today, Judge Rupp vindicated the continuing vitality of the First Amendment.”
Breitbart News reached out to Kimberlin’s VelvetRevolution.us attorney Kevin Zeese for comment but has not received any reply.
Breitbart News verified the facts of this report with Mr. Walker.
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