Hackers’ group Anonymous have declared online war on Evanescence in reaction to allegations made about frontwoman Amy Lee in a House of Commons Early Day Motion.
The motion, tabled by John Hemming MP, suggests they engaged in threatening action against fan Sam Smith, who’d uncovered evidence of illegal activity on Evanescence’s EvThread website.
The official document states the pair hired law firm Schillings and through them “threatened Sam Smith with legal action unless he agreed to enter into a contract not to report allegations of criminal activity, including abuse and sexual predation, and illegal drug use.”
It recognises those allegations have not been tried in court, but says “there is evidence to support them” and continues: “Threats of legal action and the consequential threat of legal costs should not be used to prevent wrongdoing being reported to the police.”
Hemming accuses Schillings of behaving in a manner that would be illegal in the US, and calls on the British Government to pass a law making that behaviour illegal in the UK.
The motion has been signed by two other MPs, Mike Hancock and Peter Bottomley. Early Day Motions are unlikely to be debated in the UK Parliament but can carry considerable political weight if signed by a large number of MPs.
Full documentation provided in the House of Commons publication Hansard suggests that some of the cyber-bullying referred to was intended to “procure the suicide of a teenage girl.” Other incidents are said to include the posting of material including “a story about sexual offences against a physically disabled male minor” and “sexual activity with animals. While the record notes none of these actions are themselves illegal, it’s suggested that connected activities are.
Now Anonymous have vowed to take action to pursue Lee and Lurie, and have called on the organisation’s followers to picket concerts on Lee’s upcoming tour.
They say: “Evanescence are touring the UK in November and Anons are asked to picket their concerts in full masked gear.” The group aim to show a presence in at the Manchester Arena on November 6 and Wembley Arena, London, on November 9.
Schillings, Lee and Lurie have not commented on the matter. A spokesman for Lurie’s 110 Management told Classic Rock: “This is an old story and we have no comment to make.”
source: classicrockmagazine.com
