Don't get too excited. There's a process that needs to be followed. First thing is that they have to send a subpeona to Ginger to get the IP addresses of certain posters. Second thing is that they have to subpoena the ISP records of each individual matched to a certain IP address. This is not an easy task, believe me, I know the WHOLE DEAL.
If they succeed in getting ISP logs, those logs may only cover a week or less of IP logging, in which case, any "incriminating evidence" more than a week old cannot be tied to an IP address. Logs are sometimes kept much longer, up to a couple of months, but that is unusual.
In the case of DHCP, each IP address must be tracked in the same fashion. Some users may have a new IP address every time they log on, some every time they reboot their broadband modem. The best hope for the party seeking this information is that the target has a static IP, which is very rare unless it involves a business that employs VPN or the like.
In addition to these difficulties, users may have employed proxy servers to access this site. These are still traceable in some cases, but not if the proxy strips the IP header of the originator and replaces it with its own, in which case you'd have to go through the subpoena process for that server and so forth.
At the very least, this takes time and is expensive. I have sincere doubts that some sherriff's department is going to take up the yoke on this. In my experience with the NYS Troop Computer Forensics Specialist, they go about as far as tracing to the proxy where the header has been stripped. In the event that the proxy resides outside their state (or county in a sherriff's case), or outside the country, the game is up because their jurisdiction has been exceeded.
These cases normally ferment into civil cases, in which the petitioner will need to pay quite heavily to trace trace the information.
Anyway, as an IT professional who has been a victim of internet threats and harrassment, my conclusion is that more than likely, nothing will happen. When the sherriff gives up (that won't take long, even if they're convinced a crime has been committed - which I am not so sure about) it will go to a lawyer, then a PI or forensic specialist and by that time the logs from the ISP will have been dumped and any traceable information will be gone.
So, for the "perpetrators" the best move is to cease and desist, then wait it out. In a week or two the "evidence" will be gone at the ISP level. For those seeking redress of grievance, the best bet is to go to the civil route and try to meet the burden of proof at the "preponderance of evidence" threshold, as you simply won't be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed, aside from the fact that the case would be multi-jurisdictional and interstate, which means the sherriff is useless and you need the FBI. Good luck with that.
In any case, it begins with a subpoena for Ginger's records. Did you get served with a subpoena for your logs, Ginger?
