NORFOLK
A federal judge has refused to penalize a Roanoke-based white supremacist for interfering in a Virginia Beach racial discrimination case by posting on the Internet personal details about one of the lawyers.
U.S. Magistrate Judge F. Bradford Stillman in Norfolk wrote in a 76-page opinion, filed Friday and obtained by The Virginian-Pilot on Tuesday, that William "Bill" White's postings on the Internet did not constitute a "true threat" of harm as defined by federal law.
The case began last year when five tenants of an apartment complex at 15-1/2 Street in Virginia Beach sued their landlord, John Crockett Henry, claiming a long pattern of racial discrimination. The residents accused Henry of using racial slurs against them and their children and placing restrictions on black residents that were not applied to white residents, including a curfew. Henry has since settled the case by agreeing to pay $361,000 to the tenants.
After the suit was filed, White sent a derogatory letter to the tenants and published it in his magazine, the National Socialist, which has a swastika on the cover and articles expressing hatred against blacks and Jews. He then put on the Internet the personal address and phone number of one of the tenants' lawyers, Kevin Mottley of Richmond.
Mottley testified in court that after the information was posted he feared for the safety of himself and his family.
The lawyers for the tenants said in court papers that White was retaliating for a subpoena they sent him seeking to determine whether White and Henry had any affiliation. It turned out the two did not know each other or have any connection.
"The Court recognizes that White's views, as expressed in his postings and related commentary, are patently racist and, consequently, wholly repugnant and deeply offensive to the court," Stillman wrote.
However, the judge continued, it was White's First Amendment right to post "lawfully-obtained and publicly-available information."
White could have been fined or jailed if found in contempt of court.
He still faces a similar contempt charge in the Roanoke federal court linking him to destroying computer files connected to the discrimination case.
Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343, tim.mcglone@pilotonline.com
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