Our Turn To Get Bizarre Legal Threats From Global Wildlife Foundation

Legal Issues

from the you-are-saved-and-wait-for-me! dept

So, on Monday, we wrote about some bizarre legal threats sent to Ken White (aka Popehat) concerning a story both of us had written about years ago. That story was about how a Louisiana zoo called the Global Wildlife Center (apparently run by the Global Wildlife Foundation), got upset about an obviously satirical article about giraffes at the GWC killing people, mocking a recent spate of attacks on humans by animals in captivity. The GWC was briefly able to get an injunction that was quickly removed when someone realized that there’s this amazing thing called the First Amendment… For reasons unknown, years later, Ken Matherne, suddenly started threatening White over his original post on the story, which quoted a local news source saying the following:

In addition to filing this lawsuit, via email Global Wildlife Foundation president Ken Matherne threatened to file criminal charges, FCC charges, fraud charges, an IRS complaint, a governor’s office complaint, and a federal lawsuit against Brilleaux. Matherne’s email did not explain any basis for the additional threats.

Matherne sent a series of emails to White, each more endearingly wacky that the previous one, full of interesting legal theories and creative use of the English language. You can read the details from the earlier post, but just to pass on a few of the more memorable quotes:

I did not say anything at the time. But, I think he would get dis-board by the falsified documents he presented to the judge. His father was a friend or I would have had he dis-board.

We are going to dp this all legal – get ready – I will have one of your partners, associates , friends , spouses, in dispositions for the at least the next 6 – 12 months. Minimum – 1 lawsuit lasted 12.7 years, the next only 6 . I have the means – so write me back or get ready.

Ken It was a BS move – and I appreciate that you do that for the best of people – but you always know our kids are first – and I don’t care how many $ it takes – my daughter will not live with this – so I will ask you one more time to pull this down – as a gentleman – or I will come to you! My airplane is only 10k an hour – have more cash & Gold in the bank than you can imagine – but if you hurt my daughter through this – my executives has all authority to go until all is done – I only have 1 daughter and it breaks her heart to see this! I would not do this to you or your family!

And more like that. Anyway, we wrote about that and posted it Monday. Today is Wednesday. At 12:49am California time this morning (2:49am in Louisiana, where the Global Wildlife Center is based), it appears that Ken Matherne subscribed to our daily email. Three minutes later, he unsubscribed. One minute after that, the general catchall email address that is the “from” in the subscription confirmation email, received a message from Matherne with the following subject line and no message:

you are saved and wait for me!

Leaving aside the vague notions of religious salvation, we waited. Not for long. At 1:39am our time, we received a “reply” to the unsubscribe notice that just said:

Get ready!

With anticipation building, we continued to wait (actually, we were all asleep). Eight minutes after that email, we got the following:

What state are you registered in? And if any of your two companies are affiliated – we should start to proceed. My daughter asked me not to last night. But after you new post — I am coming!

Law is the Law !

Half an hour later (about an hour and a half after he first “subscribed”) we get to… well… something:

I will save this – as I will see you in court! You may think this is fun and games – I believe in the law. I believe in the court system. You have just started a conspiracy and you documented it yourself.

So take my foundation down out of your harmful and malice posts or I will spend the next 20 years of my life, with every appeal, and every court to see justice. I will sue you as individuals and corporations – if they are legit.

Gentlemen, I only requested you do the right thing. Now you make the decision. And never use the word that I threaten you. I have been kind and upset, but I would never threaten anyone.

I never raised my voice to my wife. I don’t care of your back ground – but through investigation and depositions, I will know each and everyone one of you.

You can print this to under one of you internet companies – but please note that I will hire enough geeks to play fair.

I want an answer by 10 CST that you will stop the damage you and your associates have done. I will have no choice but to proceed to expose you and associates, everything! And I love court and depositions!

I like how he is emailing us after 2am California time, where we are located, and giving us less than 6 hours to respond. While we are curious how reporting on facts means that we have started “a conspiracy,” and find it even more interesting that he appears to directly be admitting that his intention is merely to tie us up in court, we believe that he probably should have heeded the original advice of his daughter that this was not a productive path to take.

He might also want to look up the definition of what a “threat” is, because saying that he will spend the next 20 years taking us to court is pretty much the definition of a threat.

Anyway, if there is anything he feels we wrote about him that is inaccurate, we (of course) are open to hearing about it, reviewing the evidence and determining if any correction needs to be issued. Though, as we saw with White, Matherne never seemed to provide any such evidence. Either way, we aren’t easily bullied by random threats based on bluster and a weak understanding of the law.

Oh, and we should note that while Matherne was referred to as the President of the Global Wildlife Foundation in that original press report that White quoted, one of our commenters pointed out that Matherne does not appear to be listed as an officer, director, trustee or key employee of the Global Wildlife Foundation, according to its publicly available IRS filings, the latest of which you can see here or embedded below. Other reports have said that Matherne is merely the President of the Foundation’s “advisory board.”

Either way, I would suggest that his emailed threats to both us and Ken White are not doing the Global Wildlife Foundation or Global Wildlife Center any favors. Also, since I imagine he’ll be reading this soon enough, Ken Matherne: I believe in the law, too. And the law doesn’t let you just make up reasons to bring people to court because you’re upset that those people are reporting on factual information that involves an organization that you are connected to. Again, if you believe there are factual inaccuracies in our reporting, we are happy to review the evidence. Otherwise, continually sending these kinds of emails isn’t helping anyone.

Filed Under: ken matherne, legal threats
Companies: global wildlife center, global wildlife foundation