Andy Lehrer associates with masked anarchists
I had a bit of an unnerving experience a couple of weeks ago. There was a comment left on my story about Michael Laxer– the Chairperson for the Socialist Party of Ontario. Here’s what it said:
Threat from Andy Lehrer…
When I looked-up the IP address where the message was sent from- it was an Internet cafe that was less than a kilometre away from where I was. So I ran over there with the hope I’d be able to identify who sent it. It was an interesting surprise when I discovered it was Andy Lehrer- one of the darker and most notorious characters in Toronto’s activist community.
Lehrer immediately denied it was him and subsequently began a series of attacks. First he threatened me with legal action for disclosing what happened. Then, he talked to people who know me- trying to get some dirt while simultaneously attempting to discredit me. And, now, he’s gone as far as trying to get parts of this website taken offline. But, don’t worry dear readers, I’ve got some compelling new evidence and Lehrer is already making mistakes…
In legal terms, a chilling effect is an action taken that uses the legal system to discourage someone’s legitimate exercise of a political right. One of the more common examples of a chilling effect is how people will use the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to force websites to take down pictures and videos. DMCA take-down requests are often very legitimate- but, there are equally many examples where people take advantage of them to quiet dissent.
According to three separate website owners, Lehrer has a history of making false DMCA claims to take down people’s pictures. Here’s a copy of a request from one of these alleged incidents. In my case, Andy’s taking a different approach- he’s claiming that my article is libellous towards him. There are a couple of problems with that- first, what I’ve said is absolutely true. More importantly, I posted an update to the article immediately after he made his public denial- making it clear that he contests that it’s true. It’s hard to claim that’s not fair.
Immediately after I posted my first article on this incident, Andy made a public statement about where he was when the threat was posted. Here, have a look:
As you can see, Lehrer’s immediate response (an hour after the article was posted) said that he was out-and-about in downtown Toronto and that his debit card purchase will prove that. That’s kind of weak though- perhaps his fiancée had his card? He also indicated that he has no connections to the neighbourhood nearby the Internet cafe.
Now, let’s have a look at what Lehrer wrote in his complaint to my Internet service provider:
Okay, first, let me reiterate that I’m not the only person who has made the connection between Lehrer and the pseudonym ‘Abba Kovner’- there are three of us so far. I can also, without doubt, connect the Internet cafe with the IP address where the threat was sent from- Lehrer’s attempt to create FUD fails miserably.
More important, notice how Lehrer says that he was at “at home at the time”. That kind of conflicts with his earlier statement that he was out downtown using his debit card. Oops!
I’ve saved the best part for last- thought I’d end the article with a bang. I’m now in possession of Michael Laxer’s financial statement from when he ran as a candidate for the Socialist Party of Ontario back in 2010. Not only is Andy Lehrer the listed head of the SPO, he’s was also a donor to Michael Laxer’s campaign:
It’s Andy Lehrer’s listed address that’s most interesting here 101 Bude Street. There was a smile on my face the moment I looked it up- it turns out that the house at this address is only a very few short blocks from the Internet cafe where I first encountered him. Bingo!
Things that make you go hmm…
Lehrer’s been asked for comment, but hasn’t responded. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next- perhaps he will make some more mistakes? I’m in the process of filing an official complaint with Elections Ontario. Stay tuned, I’ll be sure to keep you updated on all the fun.
Until then, here’s a copy of Laxer’s campaign finance report…
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Not meaning to stereotype anarchists, but Lehrer sounds a little too much like a lawyer in his response to you Greg.. I wonder which of his handlers wrote that for him?
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That’s a scary thought- that said, could be an explanation for this mess…
When Lehrer was protesting the neo-Nazis back in the day (story to come in the near future) he was going up against Grant Bristow– a guy who was exposed as being a CSIS agent. Perhaps CSIS had people on both sides of the fence?
Something to investigate…
Lehrer THINKS he’s a Lawyer. I am loving this so much! What’s even better is that Lehrer also calls ANOTHER place his home. Or is it the Toronto HQ of Socialist Alternative? http://www.bizvineca.com/Services/Unions/ON/TORONTO “Et Tu Bratu?”
I can’t refute the election document since Lehrer was Laxer’s campaign manager but as Georgian points out he certainly has another address as is proven with multiple documents on socialistpartyofontario.biz.ly
Every time you look for Socialist Alterative Canada online, you get his personal phone number and the Bay Street address.
That sige even has a City of Toronto link where the leader of the Champagne Socialist Party of Ontario is fighting for lower property taxes on his luxury Bay Street condominium with its conceirge.
It looks like all the leaders of their party are bourgeoise Trotskyites. I wonder what they will call the party if they go federal, the National Socialists maybe?
Of course they are all bourgeois. Lenin, Pol Pot, Hugo Chavez, all came from privileged backgrounds. It is no different in Canada.
According to
http://www.poverty-activist-toronto.ca/andy-lehrer/contributed%20about%20lehrer.html
Andy Lehrer has a love of attacking those least able to defend themselves speciailising in going after old people and the disabled.
That Bay Street condo owner does not go after bank presidents only those who unable to defend themselves whose work he can profit off of.
He has a cadre of supporters to attack his next victims from his takeover and pillaging of student radio station CKLN
real-ckln.blogspot.ca