The ruling followed a decision by a federal jury in Portland this month to award $107 million in damages to a group of doctors who had sued the operators of the Web site, contending that it was a “hit list” that incited violence. The case has been viewed as an important test of speech rights.
“I totally reject the defendants’ attempts to justify their actions as an expression of opinion or as a legitimate and lawful exercise of free speech,” U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones wrote in his order.
