Neal Horsley

Otis O'Neal Horsley, Jr. (April 15, 1944 – April 13, 2015[1]) was a militant anti-abortion activist and Christian Reconstructionist who produced a website called the Nuremberg Files, which provided the home addresses of abortion providers in the United States.

Neal Horsley
Born
Otis O'Neal Horsley, Jr.

April 15, 1944
Bremen, Georgia
DiedApril 13, 2015 (2015-04-14) (aged 70)
Carrollton, Georgia
Political partyThe Creator's Rights Party
SpouseCarol Horsley
ChildrenChristian Horsley, Nathanael Horsley

The "Nuremberg Files"

The Nuremberg Files is a website that displays the names and locations of various doctors who perform abortions throughout the United States. They came under fire as controversial because they provided photos, addresses, and other personal data of abortion providers. They also updated the listings of those doctors who had been killed or injured by anti-abortion activists, suggesting approval for such anti-abortion violence.[2] The name is a reference to the Nuremberg Trials, where Nazi German leadership were sentenced to death for their involvement in the Holocaust and other Nazi war crimes.

While the original site was shut down in 2002, it has reappeared more than once on other ISPs. Horsley was forced to change his Internet service provider numerous times due to the site's content, and his website has been hacked on several occasions.

It has been stated that information from the Nuremberg Files site was used by James Charles Kopp to track down and kill Buffalo doctor Barnett Slepian in 1998.[3] Kopp fled the country (becoming a fugitive in Canada) but allegedly maintained contact with Horsley while on the run. Kopp was later arrested in France and extradited to New York, where he is serving a life sentence.[4]

After Slepian's murder, Planned Parenthood's president Gloria Feldt denounced Horsley's website at a press conference. The publicity generated hundreds of thousands of hits (Horsley claimed 400,000). Horsley was named as a co-conspirator in a successful civil suit, Planned Parenthood v. American Coalition of Life Activists,[5] filed by Planned Parenthood over the information compiled by him and "Unwanted Posters" of doctors, which was judged by the court to constitute a threat of violence, even without an explicit call to violence. The U.S. Supreme Court has twice refused to hear the case, upholding the ruling, but asking that the punitive damages be reconsidered.[6] Punitive damages were reduced from $108 million to $4.7 million. The ruling also provides for $11 million in treble damages and $526,000 in compensatory damages.[7][8]

As part of the judgment, Horsley was to take down the "Nuremberg Files" section of his website. The verdict was later overturned on appeal, and the files returned. The case was reheard en banc, and the court determined that the files constituted "true threats" that are not constitutionally protected. Karin Spaink ran a mirror of the site in the Netherlands for about a week after the district court decision. She later decided to take down the mirror website.

Waagner incident

In 2001, self-described militant Clayton Waagner, an armed bank robber who had escaped from an Illinois prison, showed up at Horsley's home brandishing a gun. Horsley alleged that Waagner told him that he was stalking and planned to kill 42 abortion clinic workers who were profiled on the website, and presented evidence that he was the author of hundreds of phony anthrax letters that had been sent to abortion clinics and elected officials. Going to the media after his meeting with Waagner brought more attention to Horsley and his website. Waagner was arrested in December 2001, and is now serving a lengthy prison sentence.[9]

Lawsuits

During an appearance on Upfront Tonight on CNBC, Geraldo Rivera accused Horsley of "aiding and abetting a homicide" in the Slepian murder. Horsley sued Rivera for libel and slander, but the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals found against Horsley, concluding that Rivera was merely "expressing his belief that Horsley shared in the moral culpability for Dr. Slepian's death".[10] Horsley also unsuccessfully sued Glorida Feldt of Planned Parenthood and Kim Gandy of the National Organization for Women for similar statements.[11]

Run for Governor

In 2010, Horsley ran unsuccessfully for governor of Georgia, under his Creator's Rights Party, on a nullification platform.[12]

Elton John

Horsley was arrested in 2010 for making terrorist threats, after posting a YouTube video stating: "We're here today to remind Elton John that he has to die".[13] The charges were subsequently dropped.[14]

Bestiality

During an interview in 2005 Horsley said that he had engaged in bestiality when he was a 'rowdy' adolescent 'in a state of perpetual confusion' pre-conversion, saying "I did everything that crossed my mind that looked like I...I was a fool. When you grow up on a farm in Georgia, your first girlfriend is a mule."[15][16]

Death

Horsley died on April 13, 2015, in Carrollton, Georgia, two days before his 71st birthday.[17]

References
  1. "Strikethrough (Fatality)". Slate.com. 21 May 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  2. "Neal Horsley of Nuremberg Files died: True threats case reconsidered by Supreme Court in Elonis". Slate Magazine. 21 May 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2015-05-22.
  3. "Full appeals court to take up 'Nuremberg Files' case". freedomforum.org. Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  4. Michael Beebe (20 June 2007). "Kopp gets life without parole in Slepian killing". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on 27 June 2007.
  5. "Abortion Foes' Internet Site on Trial" Archived 2017-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, Washington Post, January 15, 1999
  7. "HotSpots (Security Briefings): September, 2005". Planned Parenthood. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  8. "HotSpots (Security Briefings): May 2006". Planned Parenthood. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  9. "Fugitive abortion foe: I sent anthrax threats" Archived 2006-02-23 at the Wayback Machine, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 25, 2001.
  10. Clarkson, Frederick. "A radical antiabortionist backs down" Archived March 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Salon Magazine. June 21, 2002. URL accessed on 2006-03-29
  11. Horsley v. Feldt, "FindLaw for Legal Professionals". Archived from the original on 2003-09-24. Retrieved 2006-03-29.
  12. "Horsley For Governor - I Agree With Horsley". Horsley For Governor. Archived from the original on 2014-05-17. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
  13. "Georgia Man Arrested for Threatening Elton John's Life". Rolling Stone. 12 March 2010.
  14. Bolcer, Julie (June 15, 2010). "Charges Dropped for Man Who Threatened Elton John". June 15, 2010. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
  15. ellen (May 6, 2005). "Bizarre Sex Habits of The Extreme Right-Wing". newshounds.us. Archived from the original on 2015-06-08. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  16. "Anti-Abortion Leader Neal Horsley Spews Propaganda". Southern Poverty Law Center. March 5, 2002. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  17. "Anti-Abortion Extremist Neal Horsley Has Died". splc.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-21. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
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