FAIRFAX COUNTY VA — Virginia authorities took blogger Paul Boyne into custody for extradition to Connecticut to face online stalking charges, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The case may pit racial/religious divisive, and allegedly threatening online speech against the US First Amendment.
Boyne reputedly publishes The Family Court Circus, an anti-Semitic website that attacks Connecticut family court and sometimes promotes Second Amendment solutions to government wrongdoing.
The Family Court Circus claims a “Jewish cabal” of judges, attorneys, and therapists “rape childhoods and plunder family savings” as they conspire to control CT family courts for profit at the cost of the best interest of children.
Two States Involved
More than a year ago – in late June 2022 – Virginia Circuit Court Judge Tania M.L. Saylor authorized Virginia State Police to raid the Springfield, Virginia, home Boyne shares with his 87-year-old parents.
The Virginia raid was based on a sealed complaint by CT State Trooper Detective Samantha McCord alleging “probable cause” that Boyne published articles on the Family Court Circus website that communicated a threat of bodily harm to certain judges in CT who preside over family law matters.
On June 30, Virginia State Police raided and seized Boyne’s cell phone and two laptop computers. CT Detective McCord was at the raid, and Virginia released seized devices to her custody.
Yesterday, Boyne appeared at a hearing in Virginia State Court, seeking the return of his laptops and phone. As he left, Virginia authorities served him with a Connecticut warrant and arrested him, holding him for extradition.
According to sources, Virginia State Police did not provide Boyne with details of the CT charges.
Inciting Violence Based on Religion
Frank Report learned that the charges likely stem from alleged violations of CT law concerning the felony version of online stalking [53a 181c(a)(4).]
According to Connecticut.gov, Sec. 53a-181c(a)(4) is “stalking in the first degree,” a class D felony. To get a conviction the state must prove to a jury that a defendant did ‘incite or threaten violence.. because of the actual or perceived race, religion, ethnicity, disability, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of such other person.”
The Family Court Circus describes itself on its home page as providing “nasty criticism and rants of THE WORST KIND, against the most evil court in the land and the monsters who control it.”
FR is in the process of obtaining more details and will follow up on this breaking story.
Ed. Note: Frank Report condemns anti-Semitism and all species of hatred. However, this condemnation does not include restricting all speech expressing that hatred. FR never condones using speech to incite violence against anyone, which is exactly the legal issue at the heart of CT v Paul Boyne. Did Boyne’s expression of hatred cross the boundary into inciting violence against individuals? This is a challenging slope to navigate. Stay tuned.
