For the record, although I am inclined to be *extremely* tolerant of diversity, now is not the time.
He still has the PPC logo on his website. I am not usually this direct, but tell him to take it down. Don't argue. Don't explain. It's your party logo and you can cry if you want to.
Send a letter saying that as the 'official' representative responsible for keeping the image of the PPC brand sound, you are *officially* asking that they take down that imagery by (say) July 6 at the very latest.
If he fails to comply, send an Email to
[email protected]. That is (I believe) the company that controls the netblock for that domain.
If he mentions filing a suit again, tell him that he has no basis of claim and that you will:
a) Vigorously defend.
b) Counter-sue for damages. You already have a basis for claim in that he is poisoning your brand and using your copyrighted work without permission. Ironic, but who cares? If he files suit, you will have a further basis for claim. The small claims courts do not often award damages, but this would surely be a case where they did.
You will absolutely prevail if he is foolish enough to file a claim. He will shoulder all the time and trouble and legal fees if he can find a lawyer to press his claim (hint:the lawyer would be on thin ice as an officer of the court if he took the case). He will also pay about $300 in filing fees, even if he just uses small claims court.
If it comes to it, I will write the defense response. I have an excellent template here. I will also, if it comes to it, file the counter-suit or help you to do so.
It does happen that there are people in the world that you can't deal with and you just have to walk away. Don't get all wound up about it. Just dump the guy and move on.
If he is going to waste a thousand dollars of his own money, tell him to donate it to the party directly.
Sorry for the harsh words, but I see a lot of time wasted on dealing with this guy. If he is threatening the party or its members, he is not a good team member and you should waste no energy just dumping him and moving on.
Despite the total time-wastage -- it looks good on you all that you went way beyond the call of duty to defend principles of inclusion, tolerance of diversity and free speech. He has used his free time, though and now he is eating into time reserved for others.
Once the party is on a sounder footing, I think that we should, as a matter of principle, tolerate people who are a little 'out there', this guy included. However, at this formative stage, it is too much for the limited resources of the party members to extend courtesy beyond this point.