Where we are at is that The Satanic Temple claimed in April 2020 to own a Facebook page that had criticized it for failing to live up its stated values; that is, the owners of a Facebook page were not Meta and or the people doing the work of administrating it but the Temple.

Moreover, TST claimed that they were *defamed* by posting news articles and direct statements of things the owners had actually said and done, and that sharing articles by former members talking about their negative experiences with the Temple was slander by us.

Unsurprisingly this failed. The initial (civil) accusations of cybercrimes also failed. The lawsuit was dismissed in February 2021.

The Satanic Temple re-filed in March 2021 and further amended their complaint with some contradictory claims, but also added in the especially farcical accusation that someone who is *not* being sued posting a Facebook comment on the profile of one of the co-defendants with the phrase "The Satanic Temple 2: Electric Boogaloo" was an indicator of intellectual property violations and the desire to set up a "competitor organization"; this second amended complaint continued the suit even after TST appealed to Meta to get control of the page criticizing them and wiping it of all criticism almost a year before in May 2020.

This is a #SLAPPsuit, and the Temple subsequently suing Newsweek for writing about us and then a TikToker for characterizing their suit as a #SLAPP make that point quite clearly, too

You don't need to trust us on this, by the way, but we don't want to get bogged down

https://www.socialactuality.com/post/schism-the-satanic-temple-a-lawsuit-and-the-necessity-of-clear-minded-settlement

https://sataniceurope.wordpress.com/2022/07/17/the-struggle-for-justice/

In April 2022, the judge dismissed most of the case a second time, but he left The Satanic Temple leave to amend and re-file most of it yet again.

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17042463/31/united-federation-of-churches-llc-v-johnson/

Instead, thankfully, TST's lawyers missed their deadline, so all that was left was state issues of total value less than $70,000, meaning this should not be a matter for a #FederalCourt anymore.

Hence in May 2022, we made another motion to dismiss and have The Satanic Temple either drop this frivolous, punitive waste of their supporters' money, or re-file it in state court

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17042463/33/united-federation-of-churches-llc-v-johnson/

The judge has not ruled on that yet, and there really shouldn't have been any further movement in the case.

But when it comes to The Satanic Temple, there's always more and it's always worse, meaning that first, TST's lawyer Matt Kezhaya went onto Reddit and said outright, "I hope he [Defendants’ attorney] squeezes every last penny from you living corpses, and anyone that gives you the time of day.” He also admitted in a comment reply that he was going to have to come up with a way to justify the dollar amount to keep it in federal rather than state court. Kezhaya did all this as part of explaining why it wasn't his fault he had been sanctioned for bad legal behavior in a completely different case and court.

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17042463/37/united-federation-of-churches-llc-v-johnson/

We hope these unwise statements prove to be quite helpful to us, but it was unwise.

When TST says they are mistreated by the courts, they could not be more mistaken given their actual, habitual misbehavior in the courts and outside of them.

Again, after the Temple opposed our motion to dismiss, there shouldn't have been anything more till we heard back from the judge.

#LegalFediverse #LegalFedi

So just looking at that screenshot at the top of the thread, "Defendants' opposition to Plaintiff's motion for preliminary injunction" already sounds like a mouthful.

The Plaintiff (The Satanic Temple) filed a preliminary injunction, basically to stop something from happening in order to preserve the status quo. But in this case, it is TST trying to use the courts to take over a *different* Facebook page that has continued to criticize the Temple and its owners, a page their local representatives had already openly disclaimed a desire for, and a page the national org had never even bothered to ask for, perhaps because when this all started, it had about 500 total followers

Given all this, TST's "preliminary injunction" is quite silly and has very little chance to succeed.

But it makes sense. Having failed for more than two years to get any victories in the courts against us; and having failed to stop us with their own backdoor blasphemy claim of defamation; The Satanic Temple only has the weapon of filing frivolous, spaghetti-against-the-wall motions that our lawyers still have to answer seriously, meaning we have to pay our lawyers to craft those answers and incur further costs.

We have surpassed $100,000 in legal defense costs, just to keep knocking down these silly motions often based on outright lies
https://www.gofundme.com/f/legal-fund-for-victims-of-satanic-temple1

This has been the single most devastating financial event of the lives of the four co-defendants, and of course it started taking place just as the pandemic began. It's not like there have not been bigger things we wish we could focus on or other stresses impacting us.

The Temple's owners and lawyers surely know this, so their strategy is this weaponized use of litigation with attrition being the strategy when intimidation fails.

But only due to this latest waste of the court's time and our own resources were we given an opportunity to talk about the events that led to TST suing us without having to quote from the Temple's complaint as if it were true.

That is what the Defendants (us) opposition to to Plaintiff's (TST) motion for preliminary injunction is and where we are as of today.

Bless the glorious admins at #Kolektiva for their character limit. Fully image description below the summary.

Lawyers are expensive, but #QueerSatanic's lawyers are pretty good.

They lay out in a more formal way what has happened so far, and preview what's coming: #TheSatanicTemple moved forward with this motion after being warned in June 2022 that we had emails and video of TST's local reps in their pyramid-shaped hierarchy saying the Facebook page TST national is now seeking was not something they owned or wanted.

We also point out how TST admits to *paying someone* to monitor criticism of the Temple and its owners, and this gives up the game about their claims that this has anything to do with a Facebook page since they're upset about criticism in any format: Reddit, podcasts, whatever.

We show where TST's lawyer continues to go out and say *unbelievably* ill-advised things about us and this case, which likely give some insight into TST's real motivations here. "Tell the judge on me again, I double dare you." Just incredible.

Finally, we argue that the judge should deal with whether or not to dismiss this case from federal court before dealing with the Temple's latest frivolity.
---
Link:
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wawd.285026/gov.uscourts.wawd.285026.43.0.pdf

I. INTRODUCTION
As this Court is aware from pleadings and briefings over the last two and a half years, this case arises from a dispute between a religious organization, Plaintiff United Federation of Churches, LLC d/b/a The Satanic Temple (“The Satanic Temple” or “TST”), and four of its former members, Defendants, regarding TST’s displeasure with Defendants’ critical views about TST’s tenets and practices. TST’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction (“Motion”) is part of its ongoing attempt to silence Defendants. As with many of TST’s claims against Defendants that have been dismissed as a matter law, this Motion, too, lacks all merit. TST has not shown, and cannot show, the required elements for the extraordinary remedy of a preliminary injunction. For example, it cannot show that it will succeed on the merits of its common law claims that Defendants have wrongfully converted a Facebook page (the “Memes Page”1). Far to the contrary, TST expressly
told Defendants over two and a half years ago that they could have and use the Memes Page “free and clear and we’ve [TST] no desire to claim it.” Despite being fully aware of this fatal exculpatory evidence, TST does not even mention it in its Motion.

TST also can’t show that it will suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief. Not only did TST give Defendants express permission to have and use the Memes Page “free and clear,” it waited for over two and a half years to bring this Motion, during which time it has been fully aware of Defendants’ ongoing use of the Memes Page. This delay alone proves false any claim of imminent or irreparable harm. Moreover, TST does not assert any conversion-based damages for the alleged conversion of the Memes Page. Instead, it attempts improperly to relitigate its dismissed defamation claim by arguing that it is damaged by the content being posted on the Memes Page and in other social media.

The true purpose of TST’s meritless Motion (filed the night before Thanksgiving after a two and a half year wait) is to harass Defendants and drive up their legal fees. TST knows the Defendants have limited resources to litigate this dispute and, as its attorney has publicly stated TST is using this litigation with the hope that the attorneys’ fees in this case “squeeze[] every last penny from you living corpses” [referring to Defendants]. Declaration of David Johnson in Opposition to Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction (“Johnson Decl.”) ¶ 18 & Ex. 6 (emphasis added). More recently, just days before filing this Motion, TST’s attorney again publicly acknowledged using this litigation for the purpose of harassing Defendants, stating in a public

Tweet:
Are these fuckwits still talking about me? Grow up and file an answer so I can get at your financial records. I’m coming for you. Tell the judge on me again, I double dare you.

Id. ¶ 20 & Ex. 8 (emphases added).2 Given TST’s own blatant, public statements of an improper purpose, it is impossible to conclude other than that TST is improperly using this litigation to harass Defendants until they are bled dry through legal fees.

Finally, this Motion is improper because Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss for Lack of
Subject Matter Jurisdiction (Dkt. No. 33) is currently pending. The Court should first determine if it will retain jurisdiction over this case before deciding whether it will issue an injunction.

For these reasons and the reasons set forth below, The Satanic Temple’s Motion must be denied.

/end

#UnitedFederationofChurchesLLC

Ope, missed the footnote, which is very funny.

If you are paying someone tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to represent you in court, you may hope that "tweet thru it" is not their strategy for dealing with judicial rebukes
---
2 The comment about “[t]ell the judge on me again” appears to be a reference to the fact that in its Reply in Support of Motion to Dismiss Defendants previously alerted the Court to TST’s public statement of improper purpose through Mr. Kezhaya’s statement regarding “squeez[ing] every last penny from you living corpses.” Defendants’ Reply in Support of Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. No. 37) at 1, 6, 12.

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17042463/37/united-federation-of-churches-llc-v-johnson/

Again, our lawyers review the case up to this point to catch people up to speed.

#TheSatanicTemple is very bad at court cases, and they can't say they are being mistreated by a court that has allowed them to repeatedly amend and re-file their claims despite TST contradicting itself, re-arguing the exact same points they already lost on, and missing generous deadlines.

There are no federal issues left because they have all been dismissed and the Temple failed to re-file them this latest time. So instead of waiting on that decisive ruling, TST is throwing some new bullshit into the case.
---
II. FACTS
A. Procedural History
The crux of this lawsuit is TST’s unhappiness with Defendants for posting critical comments about TST’s tenets and practices on various social media. TST has filed three complaints in this case. In its original Complaint, TST asserted federal question jurisdiction arising from federal claims and supplemental jurisdiction over state law claims, including claims for defamation, conversion, and tortious interference. Complaint (Dkt. No. 1). This Court granted Defendants’ motion to dismiss TST’s Complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, dismissing all claims with leave to amend except for TST’s defamation claim, which was dismissed with prejudice. Order Granting Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. No. 20). TST moved for reconsideration of the Court’s dismissal of the defamation claim. Motion for Reconsideration (Dkt. No. 21). This Court denied that motion, reaffirming the dismissal of TST’s defamation claim. Order Denying Motion for Reconsideration (Dkt. No. 30).

TST then filed a First Amended Complaint, which re-asserted certain federal claims and included three state law claims. First Amended Complaint (Dkt. No. 22). Following a pre-motion to dismiss conference, the parties stipulated to permitting TST to amend its complaint yet again, which this Court approved. See Stipulated Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint (Dkt. No. 24); Minute Order (Dkt. No. 25). TST filed its Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) in May of 2021. See SAC (Dkt. No. 26). In its SAC, TST re-asserted certain federal claims and sought supplemental jurisdiction over its state law claims, including a state common law claim for conversion/trespass to chattels. Id. Defendants successfully moved to dismiss the remaining federal claims. Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Second Amended Complaint (Dkt. No. 31).

Because the operative complaint is now devoid of any claims under federal law and a sufficient amount is not in controversy to invoke diversity jurisdiction, on May 13, 2022, Defendants moved to dismiss the SAC for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, asking the Court to dismiss TST’s remaining state law claims without prejudice and permitting TST to renew those claims (should it wish) against Defendants in King County Superior Court.[3 footnote] Dkt. No. 33. The Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction is still pending.

[3 footnote] Because the Court granted leave to file an amended complaint as to certain of the dismissed federal claims, see Dkt. No. 31 at 32-33, which TST did not do within the permitted time, Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction was timely under LCR 12(a)(1).

Yeah, in case y'all missed it, we have been getting sued for more than two and a half years now at an expense of more than $100,000...

👀 👀👀https://www.gofundme.com/f/legal-fund-for-victims-of-satanic-temple1 👀👀👀

...over a memes page on Facebook.

The Satanic Temple fundraises claiming to help fight for abortion rights, but in practice, look at the ways they spend it.

Anyway, TST either lied or didn't bother to establish basic facts throughout their various complaints, but typically at this stage of the case, you're only litigating stuff based on the assumption that the Plaintiff is saying things that are true. This is the first time we've been able to set the record straight (with documentation).

Apologies for the relative dryness.
---
B. Facts Relating to the Memes Page
1. Creation of the Memes Page
In November of 2019, TST-WA’s Chapter Head (Leah Garvais, who goes by the name Siri Sanguine) and TST-WA’s Media Liaison, Paul Case (who goes by the name Tarkus Claypool), expelled a TST member and Co-Chapter Head who had been leading an informal group called the South Sound Satanists. Johnson Decl. ¶ 4. The South Sound Satanists were an unofficial TST group that did not have official chapter status. Id. ¶ 5. The South Sound Satanists, led by the expelled member, used both a Facebook page and Facebook group that was originally called “South Sound Satanists: Friends of TST.” Id. The South Sound Satanists page was largely inactive. Id. ¶ 7. For the period of July 2019 through November 2019, there were only three public posts on the page. Id. After the expulsion of the member who ran the page, from November 11 through December 24, 2019, there were no posts at all. Id. From November to December of 2019, TSTWA iscussed what might be done with the page. Id.

On December 21, 2019, Chapter Head Garvais/Siri Sanguine added Defendants David Johnson, Leah Fishbaugh, and Mickey Meehan (known at the time as Lenore Calavera) as editors of the South Sound Satanists page. Id. ¶ 8. The plan was to turn the largely abandoned page into a “memes page,” focusing on short-form humor and provocative images, rather than use the page as a community. Id. The page was intended to include funny “memes” from places like Twitter and Tumblr. Id. It was supposed to be tonally comedic, light, and ironic. Id. On January 1, 2020, Garvais/Siri Sanguine changed the roles of Defendants Johnson and Meehan/Lenore Calavera to “admin” status, which gave them complete ability to manage the Memes Page, including deciding who else to add or remove as admins. Id. ¶ 9. Defendants Johnson and Meehan have been admins of the page ever since. Id. ¶ 16.

Around that same time, Garvais/Siri Sanguine accidentally renamed the South Sound Page to “TST WA Allies.” This change was a mistake. Id. ¶ 10. The change was supposed to take place on a related Facebook group called the South Sound Satanists Group, which facilitated semi private communications among people who were interested in TST but did not want to be members. Id. Facebook pages are different than Facebook groups. A Facebook page can be accessed by anyone in the public with a Facebook profile. Id. A Facebook group is used more for building communities among those who share a common interest, such as employees or church members. Unlike pages, groups can be set to private or semi-private.[Footnote 4] Id. The plan at the time was for the South Sound Satanists Facebook Group, which facilitated semi-private conversations, to be turned into a place for people interested in supporting the local chapter’s work without becoming members themselves. Id. The Facebook group that had been associated with the South Sound Satanists for their own organizing and socializing was scrubbed of identifying information (such as addresses for meeting up to work on crafts), and was opened to applications from nonchapter members. Id. ¶ 11. This Facebook group was re-named “The Satanic Temple - Washington State (Allies)” on January 1, 2020. Id. However, on the same date, Garvais/Siri Sanguine mistakenly renamed the South Sound Satanists page (the Memes Page) to “TST WA Allies.” Id. Because Facebook does not allow a name to be changed again too soon after a prior name change, the mistake could not immediately be fixed. Id. However, at this same time, the page’s username/url was changed to be “facebook.com/queersatanicmemes” and the future intent was to change the name of the Memes Page to something relating to the url, aligning the page with its new “meme” content. Id.

On March 12, 2020, Chapter Head Leah Garvais/Siri Sanguine sent an email to the TSTWA membership that stated that TST-WA had been investigating a complaint made by a member (not the Defendants). Declaration of Nathan Sullivan in Opposition to Motion for Preliminary Injunction (“Sullivan Decl.”) ¶ 7. To the Defendants’ shock, the email accused them and others of having been involved in an alleged coalition ostensibly intended to attack and undermine TSTWA’s leadership. Id. The email announced Leah Garvais/Siri Sanguine’s decision to address the issue by dissolving the advisory committee (upon which the Defendants served) and replace it with a smaller, handpicked group. Id. In another email, Leah Garvais/Siri Sanguine reiterated her plan to dissolve the existing advisory committee and create a smaller Strategy Council. Id. ¶ 8. On March 14, 2020 at 5:31pm, Garvais/Siri berated Defendant Mickey Meehan/Lenore Calavera for his social media work (that he had been providing on a voluntary and complimentary basis) and was critical of the content he was posting on the Memes Page. Id. ¶ 9; Johnson Decl. ¶ 13 & Ex. 1. Meehan/Lenore Calavera then removed Garvais/Siri Sanguine and Case/Tarkus Claypool as admins from the Memes Page. Johnson Decl. ¶ 13 & Ex. 2. Afterward Meehan changed the name of the Memes Page to “Evergreen Memes for Queer Satanic Fiends.” Id. ¶ 13 & Ex. 3. In an email at 7:48 pm that same day, Garvais/Siri Sanguine accused Meehan/Lenore Calavera of having “stolen” the former South Sound Facebook page. Id. ¶ 13 & Ex. 4. At 7:59 pm, Meehan/Lenore Calavera posted at the top of the Memes Page “This page is no longer affiliated with The Satanic Temple” and explained the reasons why it was no longer so affiliated. Id. ¶ 13 & Ex. 3.

That night, at 9:09 pm, after Meehan/Lenore Calavera had changed the Memes Page’s name and posted the statement that the page was no longer affiliated with TST, TST-WA’s Media Liaison, Case/Tarkus Claypool, sent Meehan/Lenore Calavera an email with the subject line “Evergreen Memes for Queer Satanic Fiends” in which Case/Tarkus Claypool told Meehan/Lenore Calavera that TST had no interest in claiming the page and that Defendants could have and use the
page “free and clear:”

[quoted email]
Hi Lenore,

I saw that you made some changes to the TST WA State Allies FB group. I just wanted to let you know that it’s yours free and clear and we’ve no desire to claim it. You and ADJ built it and have done a great job doing so. I’m confident you’ll both continue doing awesome work.

Sorry the way things panned out, and I do mean all of it. I wish you and your family well, and respect your need to fight the fight your way.

Rock on,

Tarkus Claypool
Media Liaison, The Satanic Temple of Washington
(he/him)
[/end quote]

Sullivan Decl. ¶ 10 & Ex. 1; Johnson Decl. ¶ 14 & Ex. 5 (emphasis added).

The next day, in a March 15, 2020 online town hall meeting via Zoom, Media Liaison Case/Tarkus Claypool again publicly reiterated in front of TST-WA members, including TSTChapter Head, Garvais/Sanguine, that TST-WA had no interest in claiming the Memes Page:

[quoted transcript]
I do want to say that we’re not going to, you know, ask Lenore to give the page back in any way. I wish them well, and I hope that they continue growing that and make it a great success. Because they’re going to fight their fight, their way. And so, let them do what they want to, and I wish them well, because both Lenore and ADJ [Johnson] did a wonderful job in the roles that they had. It just wasn’t within the TST guidelines that we are beholden to. So I want to give them due credit, and just you know, wish them well with what they’re going to plan to do with it in the future.
[/end quote]

Sullivan Decl. ¶ 14; Johnson Decl. ¶ 15; Declaration of Jeremy Roller in Opposition to Motion for Preliminary Injunction (“Roller Decl.”) Ex. 1 at time stamp 1:20:35. Since Case/Tarkus Claypool’s clear statements that TST-WA had no interest in the Memes Page and that Defendants could use it “free and clear,” no one from TST asked Defendants to give TST control of the Memes Page. Sullivan Decl. ¶ 16; Johnson Decl. ¶ 16. Similarly, Defendants are not aware of TST ever asking Facebook to remove Defendants as admins from the Memes Page. Johnson Decl. ¶ 16.

In June of 2022, after Defendants filed their Motion to Dismiss the SAC, TST’s attorney suddenly threatened to file a TRO application seeking control of the Memes Page, requesting for the first time that Defendants give TST administrative control of the Memes Page. Id. ¶ 16; Roller Decl. Ex. 2. In response to TST’s threatened TRO, Defendants’ attorney shared with TST’s attorney Case/Claypool’s March 14, 2020 email relinquishing any interest in the Memes Page and giving Defendants permission to use the Page “free and clear.” Roller Decl. ¶ 3 & Ex. 2. TST did not file the TRO application. However, despite being aware of clear evidence defeating their claim, TST has now inexplicably5 filed its current Motion, in which it neglects to inform the Court of the key evidence that is fatal to its claim – i.e., that TST expressly gave Defendants permission to use the Meme Page “free and clear.”
---
[Footnote 4]
These differences are explained by Facebook in a short Facebook Help Center post called “Differences between Profiles, Pages and Groups on Facebook,” available at
https://www.facebook.com/help/337881706729661.

Jumping out of the shield of CWs for a moment, we need to make sure you caught that in the proceeding post.

In the middle of all of that stuff trying to correct how poorly #TheSatanicTemple misunderstands (or pretends to) the way social media works, we were able to present for the first time that The Satanic Temple has been suing us for more than two and a half years over a Facebook page that TST's local reps said in writing privately then again in front of the entire chapter *TST did not own or want anymore*

Think about how much money, vitriol, and other resources have been devoted to crushing us, how it could better have been allocated, and then remember that The Satanic Temple knew or has no excuse for not knowing that even their flimsiest of pretenses was fraudulent.

These fucking ghouls.

These malicious, incompetent grifter rat bastards.

#FuckTheSatanicTemple

Ope, one more thing before we move on.

> However, despite being aware of clear evidence defeating their claim, TST has now inexplicably[5] filed its current Motion, in which it neglects to inform the Court of the key evidence that is fatal to its claim – i.e., that TST expressly gave Defendants permission to use the Meme Page “free and clear.”

Which is a very sassy place for that footnote. See below:
---
[Footnote 5] At the time TST filed this lawsuit, the Memes Page had only about 500 followers. Johnson Decl. ¶ 16. Since TST told Defendants it had no interest in the Memes Page and that they could use it “free and clear”, the Memes Page has grown to approximately 24,000 followers. Id. In addition to harassing Defendants, it is likely that this growth is the reason TST has suddenly reversed course regarding the Memes Page and is now bringing this Motion in yet another attempt to silence the Defendants after its defamation claim failed

"Tell the judge on me again, I double dare you" - 😘😘😘

Sorry for attaching this same screenshot again, but it is just one of the funniest fucking things in the whole world to keep seeing that tweet paired with the federal court paperwork header.

The Satanic Temple's lawyer #MattKezhaya just *completely* shat the bed over the summer by going onto Reddit with his old law school days, n-word account to say ill-advised things about multiple ongoing cases, then our guy Kazoo *still* can't help himself and just tweets his whole ass like this.

Fuckin' incredible.
---
C. TST’s Attorney Has Publicly Stated His Intent to Use This Litigation to Harass Defendants.

The reason that TST has brought its Motion despite the lack of any merit is to harass Defendants. On May 26, 2022, TST’s lead counsel, Matt Kezhaya, publicly stated his improper motivation for pursuing this litigation against Defendants—referring to Defendants as “morons” and “pathetic” and stating his hope that they incur an unsustainable amount of attorneys’ fees in defending against this matter. Johnson Decl. ¶ 18 & Ex. 6. (“I hope he [Defendants’ attorney] squeezes every last penny from you living corpses, and anyone that gives you the time of day.”).

More recently, on November 16, 2022, TST’s counsel again expressed improper motives against

Defendants through a public Tweet, suggesting that this case is driven from a sense of vengeance rather than legitimate legal grounds:

Are these fuckwits still talking about me? Grow up and file an answer so I can get at your financial records. I’m coming for you. Tell the judge on me again, I double dare you.

Johnson Decl. ¶ 19 & Ex. 8. Just days after posting this public taunt, TST followed through on the threat and filed the Motion the night before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Gosh, this is a WEIRD situation if you have not been following along the whole time.

In this part, we're saying that a pseudonymous declaration from a TST contractor who admits she's paid by The Satanic Temple to stalk us online shouldn't be considered b/c a.) it's sketchy as fuck as well as impossible to hold someone accountable for it and b) this is just the Temple trying to backdoor their defamation/anti-blasphemy tactic yet again

Plus, the Temple a history utilizing pseudonyms to behave badly.

Apologies for all this backstory: this is just how these people are

OK, so #TheSatanicTemple's owners *habitually* do perjury and utilize pseudonyms on legal documents beyond, to our understanding, any generosity the law might allow.

Yes, that sounds inflammatory; it's really not very straightforward:
https://queersatanic.com/today-is-a-good-day-for-the-satanic-temple-to-release-its-finances/5/#:~:text=shamelessly%20lying%20even%20to%20the%20point%20of%20committing%20perjury

Doug Misicko's comedy of errors in Belle Plaine is a heightened version of this sort of thing, but also routine.

The Satanic Temple *loves* to pseudonyms (sometimes called a #satanym or #demoniker), but whatever the ostensible reasons, they sure seem to use it dodge accountability an awful lot.

All of this explains our challenge to "Rachel Chambliss" who admitted she is PAID REAL ACTUAL MONEY to monitor people criticizing TST online. Apparently, she listened to our whole Dixieland of the Proletariat interview, too, and even provided a handy transcript for it
-https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17042463/42/1/united-federation-of-churches-llc-v-johnson/
-https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17042463/42/2/united-federation-of-churches-llc-v-johnson/

TST has *been* mad at us for pointing out that their free speech claims ring hollow given how it always seems to be in favor of literal fascists and neo-Nazis rather than anyone else; their response is to keep abridging the free speech rights of former members, critics, and journalists with weaponized, expensive litigation.
---
III. ARGUMENT
A. TST’s Pseudonymous Declaration Should Not Be Considered.
Defendants object to TST’s use of a pseudonymous declaration. In support of its Motion, TST submits only one declaration from an unidentified person in Canada using the pseudonym “Rachel Chambliss.” Chambliss Declaration ¶¶ 1-2. This “person” states that she/he/they is using the pseudonym due to a general reluctance to be publicly affiliated with TST. Id. ¶ 2 (“I am submitting this affidavit under a pseudonym to protect myself from harassment due to my employment and membership with The Satanic Temple (‘TST’).”). Only in “rare circumstances” may witnesses testify anonymously. Doe v. Los Angeles Unified Sch. Dist., No. 216CV00305CASJEMX, 2017 WL 797152, at *9 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 27, 2017) (“Absent extraordinary circumstances, witnesses do not testify anonymously under our system of laws.”) (quoting Diamond Pleasanton Enter., Inc. v. City of Pleasanton, No. 12-CV-00254-WHO, 2015 WL 74946, at *1 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 5, 2015)). Such rare circumstances are not present here. TST has not sought a protective order to keep its witness’s name under seal, nor has TST filed any document identifying the signer of the supporting declaration. 28 U.S.C. § 1746 requires that unsworn declarations be signed by the declarant under penalty of perjury. Without any record whatsoever of a witness’s identity or their signature, a declarant cannot be held to their statements under “penalty of perjury.” Id. Because TST has not obtained permission or otherwise shown cause for filing a pseudonymous declaration, the Court should decline to consider the defective declaration offered in support of TST’s Motion.

Again, this is pretty dry stuff but it's talking about an "injunction", which in this context would be the court putting a pause on us posting from our memes page until the judge makes a ruling

This motion that we're responding to is The Satanic Temple trying to shut down our 24,000-follower Facebook page by yet other means, but if it had been made in April 2020, maybe it wouldn't be so wild.

It was, however, instead made in November 2022, and any argument that it is preserving the status quo is bupkis, given that.

The Satanic Temple just can't take "no" for an answer.

Or if you want to ascribe more malevolent competence to them, they absolutely don't care about anything beyond driving our court costs up because it's extremely cheap to make bad arguments and still expensive to answer them.

SLAPP suits by rich Plaintiffs are one of the most nefarious expressions of Brandolini's law or "the bullshit asymmetry principle".
---
B. Injunction Standards
1. Preliminary Injunction Standard
“The basic function of a preliminary injunction is to preserve the status quo pending a determination of the action on the merits.” Muckleshoot Indian Tribe v. Hall, 698 F. Supp. 1504, 1508–09 (W.D. Wash. 1988). A preliminary injunction is an “extraordinary remedy that may only be awarded upon a clear showing that the plaintiff is entitled to such relief.” Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 22, 129 S. Ct. 365, 172 L. Ed. 2d 249 (2008). “A party seeking a preliminary injunction must meet one of two variants of the same standard.” Zest Anchors, LLC v. Geryon Ventures, LLC, No. 22-CV-230 TWR (NLS), 2022 WL 2811646, at *7 (S.D. Cal. July 18, 2022) (quoting Ramos v. Wolf, 975 F.3d 872, 887 (9th Cir. 2020)). Under the original standard, plaintiffs seeking a preliminary injunction must establish that: (1) they are likely to succeed on the merits; (2) they are likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief; (3) the balance of equities tips in their favor; and (4) an injunction is in the public interest. Id. (citing Winter, 555 U.S. at 20). “The Ninth Circuit employs an alternative ‘serious questions’ standard, also known as the ‘sliding scale’ variant of the Winter standard.” Id. (citing All. for Wild Rockies v. Cottrell, 632 F.3d 1127, 1134 (9th Cir. 2011)). Under the alternative standard, the court weighs the preliminary injunction factors on a sliding scale, such that where there are only serious questions going to the merits—that is, less than a likelihood of success on the merits—a preliminary injunction may still issue so long as the balance of hardships tips sharply in the plaintiff’s favor and the other two factors are satisfied. Id. at 887–88. In other words, a preliminary injunction may be granted where the moving party demonstrates either (1) a combination of probable success on the merits and the possibility of irreparable injury or (2) the existence of serious questions going to the merits and that the balance of hardships tips sharply in its favor. Grocery Outlet Inc. v. Albertson’s Inc., 497 F.3d 949, 951 (9th Cir. 2007)

2. Mandatory Injunction Standard
A mandatory injunction is one that goes beyond simply maintaining the status quo and orders a party to take action pending the determination of the case on its merits. Doe v. Snyder, 28 F.4th 103, 111 (9th Cir. 2022). The standard for issuing a mandatory preliminary injunction is high. “In general, mandatory injunctions ‘are not granted unless extreme or very serious damage will result and are not issued in doubtful cases or where the injury complained of is capable of compensation in damages.’” Id. (quoting Marlyn Nutraceuticals v. Mucos Pharma GmbH & Co., 571 F.3d 873, 879 (2009)). Because mandatory injunctions go beyond maintaining the status quo, they are particularly disfavored unless the law clearly favors the moving party. Garcia v. Google, Inc., 786 F.3d 733, 740 (9th Cir. 2015).