In February 2019, controversial Maryland Attorney Robbie Leonard threatened to doxx law-abiding Second Amendment activists while visiting state lawmakers in Annapolis.
To date, Robbie Leonard has yet to apologize.
Who is Robbie Leonard?
Robert Joseph Leonard is a Maryland attorney and unsuccessful Maryland political candidate.
A separate online bio lists Leonard as a partner with Leonard & McCliggott Law Group, a general practice Baltimore law firm.
In February 2019, Robbie Leonard jumped on Facebook, blasted Second Amendment supporters, and called on his friends to doxx them.
But Mr. Leonard went further.
He disparaged Second Amendment supporters as “terrorists in the making” and demanded the FBI investigate them – for peaceably assembling.
The Robbie Leonard Doxxing Story
So here’s the story of what happened…
The always-measured Robbie Leonard called upon his Facebook friends to doxx Second Amendment activists.
Doxing is the internet-based practice of researching and broadcasting private or identifiable information (especially personally identifiable information).
Also, did you know that the Maryland General Assembly in 2024 is looking to penalize doxxing criminally?
Back to 2019…
The Second Amendment activists in Annapolis weren’t bothering anybody – well, except for Mr. Leonard.
Robert Joseph Leonard, Officer of the Court, Threatens to Illegally Doxx Marylanders for Exercising Their First Amendment Rights
Think about this for a moment.
Robbie Leonard is an attorney.
He has practiced law for over a decade now. He’s a partner in his own law firm.
Shouldn’t Robbie Leonard know the law?
Why would Robert Joseph Leonard, a lawyer, call on others to harass citizens for no other reason than… supporting a Constitutional right?
And Robbie Leonard went viral on Facebook
Mr. Leonard’s post sparked widespread outrage and controversy – so much so that he went viral on social media.
“Time to dox (sic) some homegrown terrorists.”
That was Robbie Leonard’s February 2019 call to action – to doxx law-abiding citizens.
Second Amendment activists lined the streets in February 2019 for the annual “Gun Day In Annapolis.”
The activists stood on the sidewalks, held up signs, wore shirts that said, “We Will Not Comply,” and peaceably exercised their First Amendment rights.
A Second Amendment supporter wearing a “We Will Not Comply” shirt told A Miner Detail in 2019 that they’ve had enough of Maryland’s “overreaching gun laws.”
Maryland lawmakers typically hear several hours of testimony on gun-related legislation during an annual 90-day legislative session.
Intense Backlash against Leonard
And the backlash came.
Robbie Leonard’s Second Amendment doxxing post received intense backlash nationwide.
But here at home, Marylanders had a few things they wanted to say about Leonard’s doxxing fantasy.
“We think it’s disgusting,” Paul Brockman said.
Mr. Brockman is a Second Amendment activist and “captain” in the Maryland gun rights advocacy group The Patriot Picket, founded in 2013.
“Leonard should apologize for it. An apology would be the compassionate thing to do.”
Attorney Robbie Leonard Refused to Apologize for Calling on His Facebook Followers to Commit a Crime
Mr. Leonard said he wouldn’t apologize for his behavior.
“I mean, anybody who would….and, unfortunately, we see it more and more on the Democratic side,” Brockman continued.
“They don’t want people exercising their First Amendment rights, and that was their First Amendment right to go out there on the sidewalk and say whatever they want – pro-gun, anti-gun.”
Mr. Brockman said he traveled from Elkridge to Annapolis in 2019 with his Patriot Picket friends “to testify against a lot of the bad gun control legislation” and “a few good ones.”
Maryland Democrats Didn’t Condemn Robbie Leonard
After Robbie Leonard called on his Facebook friends to doxx law-abiding Marylanders, former Maryland Democratic Party Executive Director Ben Smith had to play clean-up, sort of.
Mr. Smith released a statement soon after Leonard’s Facebook post went viral.
“When discussing firearm regulations, the specter of gun violence is always present,” Smith’s statement read.
“These fraught conversations require peace and healing, not escalated conflict.”
Ben Smith formally served as the Maryland Democratic Party executive director in 2019, and in 2022, he ran Peter Franchot‘s gubernatorial campaign that was supposed to win.
(Mr. Franchot was defeated in the Democratic primary by now-Gov. Wes Moore.)
Ben Smith blames Second Amendment Activists
“When activists wear shirts stating ‘We will not comply with new firearm regulations, that action escalates the conflict and a willingness to flout the rule of law.”
Though Ben Smith never condemned Robbie Leonard over his calling on his Facebook friends to illegally doxx law-abiding Marylanders.
Come to think of it, Ben Smith’s flight-of-the-bumblebee clean-up never even mentioned Robbie Leonard by name, though doxxing did get an honorable mention.
“Doxxing escalates the conflict and violates privacy rights,” Smith said while hiding under a desk.
“The Maryland Democratic Party respects the rule of law and peaceful participation in the legislative process. We ask that advocates on both sides do the same.”
What about Robbie Leonard?
A Change.org petition called on Leonard to resign from his elected Maryland Democratic Party position.
Robbie Leonard says Second Amendment supporters are terrorists
Robbie Leonard decided he would double down on his doxxing fantasy and amp up his rhetoric.
“I hope the FBI runs the name of every witness wearing a t-shirt that says ‘We Will Not Comply’ t-shirt,” Lenoard said on Facebook.
(That’s unconstitutional, by the way.)
“They’re a bunch of terrorists in the making,” Leonard said.
Patriot Picket founder Jeff Hulbert of Chester, Md., said he was outraged over Leonard’s social media comments.
He said Leonard’s post was “a typical reaction from Democrats who want to feel first and then think later.”
“Government can’t operate when Democrats only navigate with their feelings.”
We Will Not Comply Slogan
When asked, Mr. Hulbert said his group’s slogan, “We Will Not Comply,” is a forecast.
“It’s not a threat; it’s a forecast.”
“It says if they pass these tyrannical laws where they, say, a class of rifle that they told us would not be restricted six years ago, now they’re back to saying we want to take them away.”
“They have violated a pledge. They’ve always said, ‘We’re not coming for your guns.’ This is proof that they are coming for our guns no matter what.”
Hulbert also had some harsh words for then-Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican.
“I wish he [Hogan] would stop running for president and focus on the number of times in Maryland that our rights are being violated and infringed upon.”
In February 2024, Mr. Hogan announced his bid for the open Maryland U.S. Senate seat that Ben Cardin is vacating for political retirement.
Robbie Leonard’s Fun Running for Office
It’s a challenging political landscape for Robbie Leonard.
Baltimore County voters rejected him three times.
In 2014, Mr. Leonard ran unsuccessfully for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 42-B.
Leonard suffered the same fate in 2018 when he was defeated in the Maryland State Senate District 42 general election by Republican Chris West.
Baltimore County voters rejected Leonard a third time in July 2022, giving him his third loss in the Democratic primary for state’s attorney.
Three losses in eight years.
Robbie Leonard’s Attorney Grievances
In Robbie Leonard’s failed 2022 primary bid for Baltimore County State’s Attorney, Leonard’s opponent, incumbent Scott Shellenberger, called out Leonard over a letter of reprimand Leonard received from the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland for using his cell phone to record witness testimony during a lead paint trial in Baltimore City.
Leonard admitted his mistake and took responsibility.
Editor’s Note:
In 2023, A Miner Detail’s editor, Ryan Miner, filed an attorney grievance aimed at Leonard over his atrocious courtroom conduct in a legal matter involving Mr. Miner, in which Mr. Leonard was the opposing counsel.
Mr. Leonard tried but failed to turn a Frederick County courtroom into his bully pulpit.
It didn’t work out as he hoped.
Instead, Mr. Leonard managed to lose his cool and shouted profanities at a fellow attorney in the courtroom lobby, overheard by courtroom observers.
You can read the 2023 complaint against Robbie Leonard below.
Robert Leonard Attorney Grievance Letter
However, Miner’s grievance against Leonard was not investigated, and the matter was closed.
I’ll bet Leonard is funded by Soros and will ensure Baltimore County will go ghetto by being soft on crime like Mosby.