Neal Horsley | |
|---|---|
| Born | Otis O'Neal Horsley, Jr. April 15, 1944 |
| Died | April 13, 2015 (2015-04-14) (aged 70) |
| Political party | The Creator's Rights Party |
| Spouse | Carol Horsley |
| Children | Christian Horsley, Nathanael Horsley |
Otis O'Neal Horsley, Jr. (April 15, 1944 – April 13, 2015[1]) was amilitantanti-abortion activist andChristian Reconstructionist who produced a website called theNuremberg Files, which provided the home addresses ofabortion providers in theUnited States.
Horsley spent time in prison as a young man for marijuana distribution.[2] Later he received a masters degree (in 1985) fromWestminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[3]
TheNuremberg 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 suchanti-abortion violence.[4] The name is a reference to theNuremberg Trials that took place shortly afterWorld War II, where members ofNazi German leadership were sentenced to death and lengthyprison terms for their involvement inthe Holocaust and otherNazi 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 hisInternet service provider numerous times due to the site's content, and his website has beenhacked on several occasions.[citation needed]
It has been stated that information from the Nuremberg Files site was used byJames Charles Kopp to track down and killBuffalo doctorBarnett Slepian in 1998.[5] Kopp fled the country (becoming afugitive inCanada) but allegedly maintained contact with Horsley while on the run. Kopp was later arrested inFrance andextradited toNew York, where he is serving a life sentence.[6]
After Slepian's murder,Planned Parenthood's presidentGloria Feldt denounced Horsley's website at apress 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,[7] 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. TheU.S. Supreme Court has twice refused to hear the case, upholding the ruling, but asking that the punitive damages be reconsidered.[8] Punitive damages were reduced from $108 million to $4.7 million. The ruling also provides for $11 million intreble damages and $526,000 in compensatory damages.[9][10]
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 rehearden 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 theNetherlands for about a week after the district court decision. She later decided to take down the mirror website.[citation needed]
In 2001, self-described militantClayton Waagner, an armedbank robber who had escaped from anIllinois prison, showed up at Horsley's home brandishing a firearm. 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 phonyanthrax letters that had been sent to abortion clinics and elected officials. Going to themedia 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.[11]
During an appearance onUpfront Tonight onCNBC,Geraldo Rivera accused Horsley of "aiding and abetting a homicide" in the Slepian murder. Horsley sued Rivera forlibel andslander, but the11th 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".[12] Horsley also unsuccessfully sued Gloria Feldt of Planned Parenthood andKim Gandy of theNational Organization for Women for similar statements.[13]
In 2010, Horsley ran unsuccessfully forgovernor of Georgia, under his Creator's Rights Party, on anullification platform.[14]
Horsley was arrested in 2010 for making terrorist threats, after posting a YouTube video stating: "We're here today to remindElton John that he has to die".[15] The charges were subsequently dropped.[16]
During an interview in 2005 Horsley said that he had engaged inbestiality 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."[17][18]
Horsley died on April 13, 2015, inCarrollton, Georgia, two days before his 71st birthday.[19]
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