Since news broke that Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder planned to file a lawsuit over Washington City Paper‘s “Cranky Redskins Fan’s Guide to Dan Snyder,” we’ve been overwhelmed by the support we’ve received. Comments on our site, comments on other sites, posts on Facebook, posts on Twitter, and man-on-the-street interviews on local (and national) TV news have been nearly unanimous in their message: “Don’t Sue.”

Many of you have also asked how you can stand with us against Snyder’s lawsuit. In many comments on our site, as well as many comments on Gene Weingarten‘s Washington Post column and chat, you’ve offered to donate to a legal defense fund. Redskins general counsel David Donovan made very clear, in a letter he sent to the investment group that owns our parent company last November, that this lawsuit would be expensive to fight. “Indeed, the cost of litigation would presumably quickly outstrip the asset value of the Washington City Paper,” Donovan wrote.

We think the value of our paper will survive this lawsuit, and we intend to fight it vigorously. We have truth on our side and, as the last few days have made clear, we are grateful to have the public on our side as well.

Today, we’re announcing the Washington City Paper Legal Defense Fund: Your chance to stand against Snyder’s lawsuit, and with City Paper. This isn’t really about the money. (Though the money definitely helps—this case will be expensive, even though we’re well-prepared to fight it.) Whatever we raise will be used to pay our legal costs, and whatever we don’t spend fighting Snyder’s lawsuit, we’ll give to a local charity in the spirit of this fund. This is about showing Snyder you support our right—and anyone’s right—to write the truth about him, or any powerful public figure, even if it’s not flattering.

Please don’t send us money you can’t afford to spare; we know what the economy is like, and we value your moral support just as much as your financial support. City Paper is not a non-profit organization, which means contributions to our legal defense fund are not charitable donations and are not tax-exempt for federal, state, or D.C. income tax purposes.

To contribute, send a PayPal contribution to legaldefense@washingtoncitypaper.com, or send a check made out to “Washington City Paper Legal Defense Fund” to Washington City Paper, 2390 Champlain St. NW, Washington, DC 20009. You can also drop us a note at that address to show your support.

We can’t thank you enough for standing with us now—as you’ve done for the last 30 years. So we’ll just say, “Thanks.” And please keep reading.