MacDonald v. Paton [1]

Elsa Paton operated a website that reported on local affairs in Athol, Massachusetts and the surrounding community. The site functioned as an interactive public forum on issues relating to Athol town governance, including education funding and municipal use of tax dollars. It included information on education reform, a citizen letters section, cartoons, quotes, a link inviting public participation by email, and satirical articles.

On September 14, 1999, Mark MacDonald, a former Athol selectman, sued Paton and others for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.  According to filings in the case, MacDonald claimed that a local newspaper published an article referring to him as a "Gestapo agent," and Paton published a "dictionary entry" for the term "Nazi" that referred to him:

nazi - not see 1. A political affiliation whose platform espouses military dictatorship, racial cleansing, eugenics and intolerance. 2. In Athol, a term sometimes used to describe certain selectmen who wish to ignore most issues except for those which place them firmly in bed with chiefs of police. (see Old Macdonald had a gun, E - I - E - I - Oh shit). 

Paton filed a special motion to dismiss the complaint under the Massachusetts anti-SLAPP law [2], M.G.L. c. 231, § 59H [3].  The Superior Court judge rejected Paton's argument, saying that the state's anti-SLAPP law did not apply to her statement.  Paton appealed.

A Massachusetts appeals court held [4] that Paton's publication of the statement was "petitioning activity" within the meaning of the Massachusetts anti-SLAPP statute because "the Web site served as a technological version of a meeting of citizens on the Town Green, a space where concerned individuals could come together to share information, express political opinions, and rally on town issues of concern to the community."

Paton's website has since been shutdown.