No doubt you’ve heard the news that California has sued Fudd Buster and co. for $8,000,000 in San Francisco. Who could have seen this coming?
The “voice of The Gatalog” is, predictably, now nowhere to be found. That organization, which in 2021 claimed thousands of members, has of late degraded to a mere mob. And though Fudd Buster (swears he) hasn’t met any of them before, he began their defense last week with an appeal to the public in an attitude of prayer.
Let us answer these prayers.
*** WARNING: The Following Contains Complete Spoilers for the Outcome of The People of the State of California vs. The Gatalog Foundation, Inc. et al. (CGC-26-633508). DO NOT read ahead if you are just here for the vibes *********
1. Code is Not Free Speech. The Supreme Court has not and did not say this. Just this morning the Third Circuit published a precedential opinion in Defense Distributed v. Attorney General of New Jersey (No. 23-3058) squarely on this question. This opinion required eight years and the efforts and funding of three Second Amendment groups. Its civil claim was totally ignored, and it vindicates Justice Thomas’ appraisal of Second Amendment jurisprudence. It will be appealed, but after VanDerStok and Rahimi we know this Supreme Court despises homemade guns.
2. California has Jurisdiction. Fudd Buster’s counter-offensive Section 1983 action through the vehicle of CtrlPew LLC is what I would have tried to do as well. I actually did try it and won against the New Jersey AG during Covid, and The Gatalog is right to use the arguments and opinions from that line of cases (Good thing legal briefs aren’t copyrightable!). But our effort worked because we filed suit against NJ *before* we were sued, and because the jurisdictional center of gravity was in Texas. In the Gatalog’s case, they let California build an entire condominium complex in their rear. They let them move first and definitively.
The other problem is — and GET this — The Gatalog Rocket.Chat has been hosted in San Francisco for the last five years. The jurisdictional center of gravity is in California, and any denial of that is a lie.
3. Judge Rochelle East.
Building a complete First Amendment case from the defensive posture is extremely difficult, and Fudd Buster is outmanned by the AG’s Office, Chiu’s City Attorney’s Office, and (of course) Giffords as outside counsel. These people know how to argue to an, at best, indifferent Supreme Court, and their discovery demands will be like nothing team Gatalog has yet imagined. But the case will move very quickly, and it may be the cleanest vehicle for a Supreme Court resolution we have.
There will be a TRO, and the Fudd Buster is hopelessly conflicted in his representation of Elik, who is the exclusive uploader and host of every “Gatalog” file on Odysee.
But we ALL know what it means if The Gatalog settles. Every ONE of us knows what it means for the John Does and 3D2A if that happens. And if it does happen, I will disavow it with such a volcanic fury that no part of this movement, not even the public, will be unsure of the result.
You do not have to win, Fudd Buster, but you are not allowed to quit.