From Bobick v. Fernandes, decided yesterday by the Washington Court of Appeals Judge Janet Chung, joined by Judges Michael Diaz and Lori Smith; I'd love to hear what others think about this:
In December 2023, Bobick petitioned for an antiharassment protection order protecting him from Fernandes. Bobick alleged that Fernandes, whom Bobick did not know personally, had been making false claims online that Bobick sexually assaulted a woman named R.H. in 2015. He also alleged that Fernandes had been "harassing [him] online for more than one year."
Bobick specifically described two recent incidents. First, on November 27, 2023, Fernandes published a petition on the Change.org website targeting the Mountaineers, a Seattle-based climbing organization. According to Bobick, the petition demanded that the Mountaineers "change their policies in vetting volunteers and how they handle behavior complaints." Bobick provided a screenshot with text from the petition, which included the following statement: "Documents from a former member of the Mountaineers reported two sexual assaults in 2016. Stephen Bobick was accused of touching a woman inappropriately as she slept in a tent on a Mountaineers Climb." Second, Bobick alleged that Fernandes and R.H. collaborated on two public events to show a video that included a photograph of Bobick and R.H. with the caption, "Was sexually assaulted twice … by leaders in The Mountaineers I trusted." According to Bobick, Fernandes "rang a bell and yelled 'shame' repeatedly as the image … was on screen" and later published the video online.
The superior court issued the antiharassment protection order based on findings that (I combine here rulings from the superior court judge and a superior court commissioner):
