Activist lawsuit against Sarah Palin moved to Federal court.

Courtesy of the ADN:

A civil lawsuit alleging Sarah Palin undertook a campaign to embarrass and discredit an activist in Alaska has been moved to federal court.

Palin attorney John Tiemessen did not give a reason for his removal of the matter from state court and declined comment, saying Wednesday that he can't discuss questions of rationale "because they necessarily involve legal strategy."

An attorney for activist Chip Thoma, James McGowan, said the move could be designed to try to avoid a jury trial in Juneau.

Thoma sued Palin for at least $100,000, claiming through McGowan that she'd twisted his complaints about bus traffic around the governor's mansion to make it seem he'd engaged in an unsavory campaign against the Palins.

Well isn't THAT interesting news?

I have no idea how this qualifies as a federal matter, but I do agree that if the trial had been held in Juneau that Palin would have had a SIGNIFICANT problem with jury selection.

This will be one to keep an eye on.

P.S. For those who DON'T know the story, the Reader's Digest version is that Thoma complained that tour buses visiting the Governor's mansion in Juneau were causing traffic problems and a potentially dangerous situation.

Palin responded by putting a fake lemonade stand out in front of the mansion, making Piper sit in it, and then accusing Thoma of attacking her children.

This resulted in a vicious attack from Palin's, much more modest back then, flock of Flying Monkeys who harassed Mr. Thoma mercilessly. Hence the civil lawsuit for $100,000.