In a frightening ruling that climate change zealots will surely seize upon to silence global warming critics, a Washington D.C. jury (of course) awarded climate scientist $1 million in his libel suit against columnist Mark Steyn.

Why this sizable damage award? Steyn made some offensive comments about Mr. Mann “torturing data” in a column, but if questioning the integrity of a political adversary is a crime, then your Hotline editors would be multi-millionaires today.

Steyn’s real “crime” here is that he dared question Mann’s infamous “Hockey Stick” chart alleging to show a rapid rise in temperatures due to fossil fuel use.

The climate lobby insists this is “settled science.” Sure. As unimpeachable as the phantom “population bomb;” the idea that lockdowns were necessary to combat Covid; the Y2K hoax; and other doomsday hoaxes. The left would have us return to the days when people were imprisoned for questioning the Flat Earth Society.

“I hope this verdict sends a message that falsely attacking climate scientists is not protected speech,” Mann gloated in a statement.

Alas, it DOES send that message.

This verdict is an assault on free speech. It won’t advance scientific inquiry, but retard it. It should be overturned.