Adam Kiefer got a restraining order against an antifascist researcher who revealed that he was at the Capitol on Jan. 6. It might have been a costly mistake.

Why Loder might actually win:

From the start of the legal battle, Loder knew something important about California law that Kiefer apparently did not. The state has a statute designed to punish anyone who abuses the legal system by filing meritless lawsuits, including false harassment claims intended to deter or silence the protected speech of their critics. In legal jargon, such a scheme is known as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, or a SLAPP.

Last month, Loder’s legal team invoked this law and filed what is known as an anti-SLAPP motion, asking the judge overseeing Kiefer’s case to rule that his request for a restraining order was an abuse of the legal system designed to silence Loder. If Loder’s motion is successful, it could cost Kiefer tens of thousands of dollars. That’s because, if the judge agrees that Kiefer’s request for the temporary restraining order was a SLAPP, the court would not only lift the order but also impose a financial penalty by requiring Kiefer to pay Loder’s legal fees.

. . . if the fascists don't kill them first.

In a follow-up tweet, Ngo informed his 900,000 followers that Loder had been required, because of the temporary restraining order, to surrender their gun to the police until the case is settled. Loder told me that Ngo’s tweet, which named the area they live in and showed the inside of their apartment, had triggered threats, including from a retired LAPD homicide detective who tweeted to Ngo: “I’m going to see Chad one day. I’ll take photos of the aftermath.” (The former detective, Sal LaBarbera, told me that he did not mean to threaten Loder with violence.)