Parish president wants names*

The interim president of Jefferson Parish in New Orleans has sued to force the Times-Picayune to turn over the names of 11 people who posted comment anonymously on the paper's website. The comments seem pretty tame, but interim president Steve Theriot says they were were "made with malice, and a blatant, intentional disregard for the truth, and with the intent that such statements damage plaintiffs."

The full story is here.

*UPDATE: Turns out Theriot isn't trying to intimidate anyone - he just wants to help! From the T-P:

Jefferson Parish interim President Steve Theriot told the Parish Council today that the lawsuit he filed against anonymous users of www.NOLA.com is aimed at addressing the concerns they raise -- not to block criticism of the government.

"This is in no way to shut up anyone regarding their concerns about the operation of the government," Theriot said.