Otis O'Neal Horsley, Jr. (April 15, 1944 – April 13, 2015) was a

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...

anti-abortion activist and Christian Reconstructionist who produced a website called the Nuremberg Files, which provided the home addresses of

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

providers in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Early life and education

Horsley spent time in prison as a young man for marijuana distribution. Later he received a masters degree (in 1985) from

Westminster Theological Seminary Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian theology, theological seminary in the Reformed theology, Reformed theological tradition in Glenside, Pennsylvania. It was founded by members of the faculty of Prince ...

in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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 Anti-abortion violence is violence committed against individuals and organizations that perform abortions or provide abortion counseling. Incidents of violence have included destruction of property, including vandalism; crimes against people, inc ...

. The name is a reference to the

Nuremberg Trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...

that took place shortly after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, where members of

Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

leadership were sentenced to death and lengthy

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

terms for their involvement in

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

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 An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...

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 Barnett Abba Slepian (April 23, 1946 – October 23, 1998) was an American physician and abortion provider who was assassinated in his home by James Charles Kopp, a militant member of the US anti-abortion movement. Life and career Slepian was ...

in 1998. Kopp fled the country (becoming a

fugitive A fugitive or runaway is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

) but allegedly maintained contact with Horsley while on the run. Kopp was later arrested in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

extradited In an extradition, one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdic ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, where he is serving a life sentence. After Slepian's murder,

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

's president

Gloria Feldt Gloria Feldt (born April 13, 1942) is an American author, speaker, commentator, and feminist activist who gained recognition as a social and political advocate of women's rights. In 2013, she and Amy Litzenberger founded Take the Lead, a nonp ...

denounced Horsley's website at a

press conference A press conference, also called news conference or press briefing, is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalism, journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicia ...

. 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'', 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 The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

has twice refused to hear the case, upholding the ruling, but asking that the punitive damages be reconsidered. Punitive damages were reduced from $108 million to $4.7 million. The ruling also provides for $11 million in

treble damages In United States law, treble damages is a term that indicates that a statute permits a court to triple the amount of the actual/compensatory damages to be awarded to a prevailing plaintiff. Treble damages are usually a multiple of, rather than an ...

and $526,000 in compensatory damages. 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 In law, an ''en banc'' (; alternatively ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank''; ) session is when all the judges of a court sit to hear a case, not just one judge or a smaller panel of judges. For courts like the United States Courts of Appeal ...

, and the court determined that the files constituted "

true threat A true threat is a threatening communication that can be prosecuted under the law. It is distinct from a threat that is made in jest, or a threatening remark that no reasonable person would perceive to be a genuine threat, intended to be acted upon ...

s" that are not constitutionally protected.

Karin Spaink Karin Spaink (born 20 December 1957) is a Dutch journalist, writer and feminist. She is also a free speech advocate and social critic, who has criticized New Age writers and the Church of Scientology. Biography Spaink was born in Amsterdam and ...

ran a mirror of the site in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

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 Clayton Lee Waagner (born August 25, 1956) is an American convicted bank robber and anti-abortion terrorist. He was born Roger Waagner in North Dakota. He was an escaped fugitive during the spring, summer and fall of 2001 and was the FBI's 467th ...

, an armed

bank robber Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank ...

who had escaped from an

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

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 phony

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

letters that had been sent to abortion clinics and elected officials. Going to the

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

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.

Lawsuits

During an appearance on ''Upfront Tonight'' on

CNBC CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...

Geraldo Rivera Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Rivera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, and political commentator who worked at the Fox News Channel from 2001 to 2023. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He g ...

accused Horsley of "aiding and abetting a homicide" in the Slepian murder. Horsley sued Rivera for

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

and

slander Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making wikt:asserti ...

, 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". Horsley also unsuccessfully sued Gloria Feldt of Planned Parenthood and

Kim Gandy Kim Gandy (born January 25, 1954) is an Americans, American feminism, feminist who, from 2001 to 2009, was the president of the National Organization for Women. Since 2012, she has been the president and CEO of the National Network to End Domest ...

of the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

for similar statements.

Run for governor

In 2010, Horsley ran unsuccessfully for

governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...

, under his Creator's Rights Party, on a

nullification Nullification may refer to: * Nullification (U.S. Constitution), a legal theory that a state has the right to nullify any federal law deemed unconstitutional with respect to the United States Constitution ** Nullification crisis, the 1832 confron ...

platform.

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 Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

that he has to die". The charges were subsequently dropped.

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."

Death

Horsley died on April 13, 2015, in

Carrollton, Georgia Carrollton is a city in and the county seat of Carroll County, Georgia, United States. It is within western Georgia, about 45 miles (72 km) west of Atlanta near the Alabama state line, and is included in the Atlanta metropolitan area. It is ...

, two days before his 71st birthday.

References

External links

Hannity and Colmes interview Neal Horsley - part one
-

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

, 1999
Hannity and Colmes interview Neal Horsley - part two
-

, 1999
The Propagandist
-

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...

report on Horsley *Kaminer, Wend
"The Limits of Free Speech"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horsley, Neal 1944 births American anti-abortion activists Westminster Theological Seminary alumni People from Bremen, Georgia 2015 deaths