05/02/2020 2016 ONCJ 35 (CanLII) | CanLII All but #FascistFeminists are hashtags that Ms. Guthrie either created or were associated with events or organizations that she was active in. Mr. Elliott used #4thwave four times in April, and it plays no role in this case. He used #16days three times on November 20, the day before he was charged. In one tweet he wrote: “Harassment online is criminal harassment. But you better be damn sure it’s harassment, and, it is directed towards you.” In one he tweeted: “And women w/unshaved legs are bitches? #sexism. @colleen_rowetil no shave November ends and guys no longer look like rapists #16days.” In one he wrote to @soapboxingGeek: “I’ll check your TL over the past year and Storify out any context. That’s how #misandrists do it isn’t it? #16days#bullying.” Mr. Elliott also used the hashtag #TBTB. In one tweet he wrote: “I have learned that #TOpoli #FascistFeminists are using my avi, libelling me, and are attempting to get me kicked off Twitter. Bullies #TBTB”. I take “avi” to mean “avatar”. Ms. Guthrie testified about this tweet that “Greg” created the #fascistfeminists hashtag to refer specifically to her and to the other complainants in the case, who at the time that she testified were Ms. Reilly and @rachelmack. In her opinion, Mr. Elliott felt that people were spreading lies about him, saying that he was “creepy” and claiming that he was making uninvited sexual advances to women on Twitter. She testified that none of it was lies, that it was all substantiated and that the evidence was public. This is a concise, fair characterization of the dispute that Ms. Guthrie was involved in and that led to this case. In two of these tweets, Mr. Elliott was putting forth his own defence even before he was charged; not in the context of criminal charges against him but to express his opinion on the use of Twitter and freedom of expression generally. On November 15 he tweeted: “To create a hashtag like #AOTID and then suggest that you own and control the conversation is evidence you don’t understand Twitter’s true value.” Mr. Elliott’s tweets using #AOTID are important to the prosecution’s case because he sent them on November 15 and 16, in part prompting Ms. Guthrie to go to the police. He sent 11 tweets using #AOTID, though none to Ms. Guthrie. #AOTID, Ms. Reilly testified, was set up to promote an online discussion. In one tweet using #AOTID, Mr. Elliott quoted a tweet by someone named @danspeerin about how quickly Marshall McLuhan comes up in Twitter discussions – which had nothing to do with Ms. Guthrie. His use of #AOTID appears in quotation marks. He then sent two tweets on November 15 using #AOTID that expressed his view of hashtags and Twitter: one as set out above, and the other saying “'Calling out a troll' is usually just ‘asking everyone you know to gang up on someone offering an opinion different than yours’ #AOTID #dumb.” Ms. Reilly testified that the #AOTID discussion was about trolling. These tweets were not random or irrational. A discussion ensued with someone named @CromartyHeather. In it, @CromartyHeather and Mr. Elliott obviously referred to Ms. Guthrie, though neither named her nor used her handle. This exchange, which is pointed and acerbic, does not show up in the Sysomos search of #AOTID, but does when Mr. Elliott’s tweets are expanded. Mr. Elliott tweeted: “@CromartyHeather When idiots who call everyone #trolls and creeps start a discussion about it, I’m going to comment– nothing to do with her.” @CromartyHeather challenged him about using Ms. Guthrie’s handle: “@greg_a_elliott Oh so you randomly typed those letters in, and didn’t do it to try and get her attention?” and told him that his tweet did not make sense. Mr. Elliott told her that he was still waiting for an apology from Ms. Guthrie and the others who bullied him when he pointed out their “calling out” attack on others. He also wrote, obviously referring to Ms. Guthrie: “She doesn’t own a hashtag. Twitter’s public. What kind of control freaks are you? Censoring Twitter? Go to Facebook”. As Ms. Guthrie surmised, and Crown counsel agreed, the conversation between @CromartyHeather and Mr. Elliott began with @CromartyHeather tweeting: “Apparently there’s a troll in the #AOTID feed. Ha ha ha, least self-aware dude ever.” Mr. Elliott’s tweets with @CromartyHeather hearken back to having dinner with Ms. Guthrie, not imagining her as a “sexual option”, and to her imagining that he thought otherwise, her making inaccurate statements about people based on her own “crazy” fears and needs. @CromartyHeather told him that he brought her up in every conversation. file:///Users/nerissa/Downloads/Columbia CSV/R v Gregory Allan Elliott.htm 24/43