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The case, Newsome said, accuses both entities of pressuring carriers not to call on the Leatherman terminal, implementing what Newsome called a “secondary boycott” — an illegal tactic under the National Labor Relations Act.

While picketing companies that deal with employers involved in labor disputes — known as a secondary boycott — is illegal under labor law, the board ruled that the use of oversized rats, which are typically portrayed as ominous creatures with red eyes and fangs, is not a picket but a permissible effort to persuade bystanders.

Such coercion would constitute an illegal secondary boycott.

That changes, however, if activists can enforce a secondary boycott on the newsletter services, payment processors or web hosts that writers use.

Kelly, Lewis, and a number of Twitter users were quick to point out that the LUP had apparently misunderstood what a secondary boycott is.