Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suing Daily Kos. friend, do you have our back?

Friend, earlier this week, thanks to [Fox Nation]( and Tucker Carlson, anti-vaxxer zealot Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was given a platform to reach a huge audience where his lies and conspiracy theories could be spewed unchecked. Kennedy used this opportunity to showcase his greatest hits of vaccine conspiracy theories, including: vaccines are used to track and surveil us, the COVID-19 vaccine has killed more people than all vaccines in history combined, and of course that vaccines cause autism and other childhood maladies. None of this is true and his anti-science rhetoric is endangering our public health. In between his conspiracy theories and attacks on Dr. Anthony Fauci, he [cried victim]( that his First Amendment rights were being trampled on. The funny thing is, he is the one trampling on the First Amendment. Kennedy is suing Daily Kos to unmask a community diarist for writing a story about Kennedy’s attendance at a Berlin rally that was heavily planned, promoted, and attended by neo-Nazis. [Daily Kos will not back down from Kennedy's bullying. We will continue to fight in the courts to protect the First Amendment and privacy rights of our community. Help fund our legal efforts against Robert Kennedy Jr., a dangerous, life-threatening conspiracy theorist, by clicking here and donating to Daily Kos.]( Kennedy’s legal assault to end the anonymity of our community diarist is a challenge to everyone’s ability to engage in the political process without the fear of being persecuted in their community, workplace, and social circle. Thankfully, Daily Kos won a victory in a California court. Markos explains our win well in his [recent post]( about the lawsuit: Kennedy sued us in a New York state court demanding we reveal the identity of a pseudonymous community blogger. The trial judge agreed with Kennedy and demanded we release that information. We appealed. Pending appeal, we asked for a stay on the subpoena demanding that information, but the New York court refused. Kennedy’s problem is that New York courts can’t enforce a subpoena against a California company. And we sure as hell weren’t (and aren’t) about to volunteer the information. Therefore, Kennedy had to sue us in California court to enforce that subpoena -- which he did. The California court finally issued its decision, and it was essentially one big “nope” to Kennedy, for now. In short: 1) the subpoena is stayed pending the resolution of the New York appeal (in other words, it’s currently unenforceable), 2) the California court will take notice of the legal standard used by the New York court in making its decision, 3) if New York doesn’t use California’s strong First Amendment standards (or equivalent) and rules for Kennedy, then: 4) the case will still need to be litigated in California, using California’s legal standard. (While we hope to change this in our New York appeal, California currently has much stronger First Amendment protections.) This should be the end of the case--but unfortunately, it will not be. There is no reason for Kennedy to continue this case, except that there’s nothing rational about this case to begin with. Kennedy claims it’s about being defamed, but he hasn’t sued any of the other media organizations that reported on his attendance at the Berlin Nazi rally. He hasn’t sued Daily Kos for repeating that he cavorted with Nazis at an anti-vaxx rally that was organized and promoted by fascist right-wingers. This has always been about unmasking an online critic in order to intimidate others, and nothing more. [The bad news is that the lawsuit will likely continue, and Kennedy has unlimited financial resources. We are not able to protect our community without your help. Nearly half of our revenue comes from thousands of grassroots supporters chipping in a few dollars at a time. That's why I am asking you to donate $5 to Daily Kos today.]( Thank for all you do, Amanda McKay, Daily Kos P.S. [Public Citizen]( has joined us in this fight by providing legal representation pro-bono for the community writer at the center of this case. [Please consider making a donation to support their work.]( If you wish to donate by mail instead, please send a check to Daily Kos, PO Box 70036, Oakland, CA, 94612. Contributions to Daily Kos are not tax deductible. (Please note that we may be slow to process checks during the coronavirus outbreak.) Sent via [ActionNetwork.org](. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Daily Kos, please [click here](.