After several months of defiance the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa – the Gresham, Oregon bakery that discriminated against a lesbian couple citing religious beliefs as justification – finally paid the $135,000 fine (plus interest) levied by the state. The fine came as a direct result not of the actual discriminatory actions against the couple but due to the actions the Kleins took thereafter in publishing the couple’s private information to encourageharassment and death threats.

The fine and court hearings all relate back to the original incident in January 2013 when Aaron Klein refused to sell a cake to Laurel Bowman and Rachel Cryer (now combined as the Bowman-Cryers) after previously selling an identical cake to them for a heterosexual wedding for one of their parents. When questioned, the Aaron Klein outright admitted he refused a public accommodation to the couple based on their sexual orientation – something that’s literally against the law in the state of Oregon.

When filing a complaint against the bakery with the state, the couple had to give their personal information on the form and since they filled it out online did not see the disclaimer stating that information would be provided to the bakery. Subsequently, after receiving the complaint, the Kleins published the Bowman-Cryers personal information on their social media account. That act lead to ongoing threats, harassment and worse against the couple. It was so bad they nearly lost their foster children.

It was this facet of the case combined with the Kleins’ blatant disregard for the law that led to a decision in the Bowman-Cryers’ favor.

KATU 2 News reported on the development:

The co-owner of a Gresham bakery that refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple delivered a $136,927 check that covers the couple’s damages following the January 2013 incident. [SNIP]

After several months of refusing to pay the damages, Aaron Klein delivered the check (with accrued interest) to the State of Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries offices in Portland on Monday.

The check will be held by the state until the Klein’s appeal on the matter is resolved.

The payment follows a drawn out legal process where owners Aaron and Melissa Klein attempted to argue they should be exempt from state public accommodation law due to their religious beliefs. Though the couple could not demonstrably stand by those same beliefs in other circumstances when tested by journalists, the Kleins stood by their story and went on a national anti-gay conservative tour telling their story.

Due in large part to the anti-gay circuit the couple received over $500,000 from crowdsourcing (meaning they’re making a profit even after paying the fine).

In a statement to press Tyler Smith (one of the Kleins’ attorneys) said:

“Aaron and Melissa Klein are devoted to honoring God in every aspect of their lives, including how they conduct themselves in this litigation. Oregon law requires that as they appeal the Oregon government’s decision denying them their First Amendment rights, they must either pay the amount imposed by the Oregon government, or obtain a bond for the amount of the judgment. The least expensive option to stay in compliance with the law was to pay the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries funds that will be kept in a separate account until they prevail in their court appeal.”

Which is to say, they gave the state of Oregon a check for the amount owed but still fully believe they’ll prevail on appeal and receive that money back (despite every legal loss up to this point).