A federal judge has refused a request by a California man to dismiss part of a lawsuit in which the National Rifle Association’s longtime Florida lobbyist alleges she received harassing and threatening emails in the aftermath of the February mass shooting at a Broward County high school.

Lobbyist Marion Hammer filed the lawsuit in July against California attorney Lawrence Sorensen and three other men because of emails they sent to her after the Feb. 14 shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and amid the subsequent debate on gun-control issues. The lawsuit sought damages and an injunction against further emails.