Woman awarded $725,000 in suit against neo-Nazi website founder

Kelly Powers

Nooses appeared around campus after Taylor Dumpson became the first black woman to serve as student government president at American University in Washington, D.C.

That was on her first day in office in 2017. But she might be getting closure this week.

The Maryland native won a lawsuit Friday against the neo-Nazi website operator who organized an online harassment campaign against her.

A federal judge granted default judgment to Dumpson, awarding her more than $725,000 after Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin and a follower failed to respond to her lawsuit, according to the Associated Press.

Compensatory damages of $101,429.28, punitive damages of $500,000 and attorneys' fees and costs of $124,022.10 were awarded. The judge also entered a restraining order against Anglin, his Moonbase Holdings limited liability company and Brian Andrew Ade.

Anglin had posted an article about the hanging installations, directing followers to "troll storm" Dumpson on social media. According to her lawsuit, the publisher directed his known neo-Nazi site's readers to cyberbully her.

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The lawsuit states that Dumpson was attacked with hateful comments on multiple social media platforms for days after the article was published.

Dumpson lost an unhealthy amount of weight as a result of the article. She "experienced flashbacks, nightmares, depression, anxiety and disordered eating, and engaged in avoidance behavior, as a result of these events," according to the lawsuit.

But she also took the experience as a chance to empower others — looking to inspire people to confront hatred and injustice nonconfrontationally.

Dumpson was interviewed about the incident and her resolve by CNN and national publications including the New York Times and Washington Post, and recorded a stand-up discussion on TEDx Talks in June 2017.

"There is power in sharing your story, especially given the national climate right now," she told Delmarva Now in 2017. "You have to engage in these conversations to move forward."

In this Thursday, May 4, 2017 photo, American University student government president Taylor Dumpson speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Dumpson, the first black woman to serve as American University's student government president has sued a neo-Nazi website's publisher, accusing him of orchestrating an online harassment campaign against her. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Dumpson made her way to the private university after graduating, and she continued to promote tolerance and inclusiveness — eventually opening the conversation on a national scale that summer.

She ultimately left the post — receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress according to her suit — but her case was reportedly meant to show people will be held accountable for their unlawful attacks to a person online.

Now, her representation says this ruling should send a loud message to other white supremacists.

"They can and will be held accountable for hateful activity that constitutes unlawful discrimination, no matter whether it occurs online or in the real world," Kristen Clarke told the AP, serving as president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Lawsuit against Daily Stormer founder results in $725,000 for woman