Home / Crime and Justice / Online Mobs Target Innocent Families: Justice or Vigilantism?
Online Mobs Target Innocent Families: Justice or Vigilantism?
10 Oct
Summary
- Lawyer mistakenly served wrong Matthew Ingalls with lawsuit papers.
- Family of innocent Matthew Ingalls received violent threats and harassment.
- Judge sealed court documents to stop online vigilantism and doxxing.
A lawsuit concerning sexual assault allegations at Cornell University has led to an innocent family being targeted by online vigilantes. The mother of Marine Sergeant Matthew Ingalls was mistakenly served with court papers meant for a man accused of assault, a case of mistaken identity that caused significant distress.
This error resulted in the Ingalls family receiving numerous violent threats and experiencing harassment. In response, the presiding judge has sealed certain documents, denouncing the "brash, reckless and ultimately dangerous internet vigilantism." The judge ordered the lawyer for the accuser to refile documents with personal addresses redacted.
The lawyer for the wrongly targeted family noted the irony of the accuser's lawyer speaking out against doxxing while the innocent party's information was publicly available. This episode underscores the broader issue of online mobs seizing unverified information, leading to the lives of uninvolved individuals being upended.
Similar incidents, such as Spike Lee's mistaken address for George Zimmerman and the misidentification of a suspect after the Sydney mass shooting, demonstrate the persistent dangers of digital vigilantism. The fallout from such online frenzies can include lasting emotional trauma and damage to employment and earnings.
