Many people believe that being a horrible person on the Internet has no consequences. And we’re not just talking about occasional insults. We’re referring to individuals who engage in persistent harassment, death threats, and behaviors that would be considered serious crimes and incompatible with being a functioning member of society in any other circumstance. That’s why it’s good news to discover that Bungie, the creators of Halo and Destiny 2, have taken action when one of their employees has been involved in such circumstances.
Jesse James Comer has been ordered to pay $500,000 to Bungie for orchestrating a harassment campaign and revealing personal information about a Bungie community manager after the manager praised the work of a content creator of color. According to the court of Washington State, Comer began by making threatening phone calls to the personal phone of the Bungie CM, and then continued with his spouse. This escalated to a later incident where he ordered a “disgusting, virtually inedible pizza” from Domino’s, instructing the delivery person to call at least five times and stating he would pay in cash upon arrival. This was a way of demonstrating to the Bungie community manager that he knew their address and could go after them if he desired.
Comer documented all of this in a Steam group called terr0rgang, which maintains a collection of sound files classified as “ear rapists” and is allowed for use by its members as part of their terror campaigns. Comer utilized this only hours after sending the pizza.
After the pizza incident, Bungie took action. They sent “executive protection” to ensure the safety of their community manager and their family, hired private investigators and external advisors to identify and bring Comer to justice. Once his identity was known, they pursued legal action, which resulted in a half-million-dollar fine. This substantial amount will deter Comer from engaging in similar actions in the future and will set a precedent for other similar cases. The next time someone considers such behavior, judges will have a verdict to rely on. And $500,000 is not an amount of money that many people can afford to pay for the sake of amusement or “lulz.”
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