TURTLEBOY/ KAREN READ SAGA: INTIMIDATION OF A WITNESS? OR...

Photos: Aidan Kearney, A.K.A. “Turtleboy,” exiting Norfolk Superior Court, a “free man.” Kearney speaking from courthouse steps. Courtesy of Brian Hale Photography

CANTON, Massachusetts – [HN NOTES & MULLINGS ON THE MATTER] – On his “TB Daily News” website, Aidan Kearney released the following statement just one day after being arrested, shackled, and paraded in front of a small army of awaiting news cameras:

“As you probably know by now, I was arrested at my home by State Police on Wednesday morning after putting my children on the school bus. I was booked, transported to Stoughton District Court, and charged with 8 felony counts of intimidation of a witness, 4 misdemeanor counts of picketing a witness, and one charge of conspiracy. I was shackled, held in a cell, and arraigned in front of a hostile audience that had been tipped off by their friends and co-conspirators at the District Attorney’s Office. I was eventually released on personal recognizance and given a stay away order against 8 “victims,” who I’ve been exposing, asking questions to, and peacefully protesting against. The last 48 hours have been difficult, as the same corrupt cops I’ve been exposing executed a search warrant on my house and stole my phones and computer. I bought a new phone and computer today and was finally able to publish this story tonight.

These are serious charges and I need a quality criminal defense attorney, preferably with some experience with witness intimidation and First Amendment issues. I intend on hiring the best of the best, as I do not back down from a fight. If you would like to donate to our legal defense fund you can do so by clicking here. I appreciate any and all donations, and cannot begin to describe how overwhelmed with emotions I am to see the outpouring of support I have received. This is a battle of good vs. evil. They want to silence my voice because my reporting has been too effective. Until I retain counsel and obtain legal advice I will not be doing any blogs or streams, as I am of no use to anyone if I’m incarcerated for 90 days. Thank you for understanding, because I will never stop exposing the truth, and I will never stop fighting for justice for John O’Keefe and Karen Read.”

The Turtleboy legal defense fund has already raised over $40,000 at the time of this report (the goal is $100,000). The funding effort contains the following explanation:

Aidan Kearney is an award winning journalist who has uncovered and reported on the coverup of John O’Keefe’s murder, and the subsequent framing of his innocent girlfriend Karen Read. While the rest of the mainstream media has chosen not to ask questions directly to the conspirators responsible for John’s death, Aidan has repeatedly asked them tough questions in person, and held peaceful protests in Canton to raise awareness about the coverup. For having the audacity to speak out against corruption and murder, the State Police and the District Attorney’s Office charged him with 8 felony counts of witness intimidation. The message was sent loud and clear – if you exercise your First Amendment rights and expose police corruption they will send men with guns to your house to arrest you in front of your children’s school bus. The Commonwealth will be throwing everything at Aidan in an attempt to silence his voice because he’s too effective. He needs aggressive, experienced, and competent representation. To that end we urge you to donate what you can to the legal defense fund, which will go towards expenses related to Aidan’s legal defense, including legal and expert fees and costs. CLICK HERE TO DONATE

Upon hearing the news of Turtleboy’s arrest, the first remark HN posted on several of the “socials” was, “What’s next? Work camps in Siberia?”

The arrest and following spectacle felt retaliatory and extreme in my opinion. There are other ways to deal with alleged harassment. For example, years back, I had a deranged, angry reader following me around and calling me at all hours. It’s not unusual for HN to receive hate mail and irate phone messages, but this nut took things a little too far. It was annoying and some of the man’s threats were concerning, to say the least, placing me and several others on high alert. He was clearly trying to intimidate me and prevent me from doing my job.

I spoke with cops and they helped me apply for a harassment prevention order, which was granted by a judge at Barnstable District Court. The man received a visit from police and was placed on notice… and I have never seen nor heard from him ever again.

But let me tell you what DID NOT happen in my case. The Commonwealth did not assign a special prosecutor to investigate and bring a case against this deranged, annoying individual. An arrest team did not descend on his children’s bus stop to take him down. He was not shackled and paraded in front of a small horde of news cameras, with varying intentions. His home was not searched. And his phones and computers were not seized in an alleged effort to find out whether he may have been “wiretapping.” In other words, the authorities did not go too far. It was not a case of government overreach.

So, what was the real reason for Turtleboy’s phone and computer being seized? Was it actually an attempt to find out the identities of all of his confidential sources, many of whom are state and municipal police officers? Was the entire operation an attempt to intimidate Turtleboy? Was it also an attempt to keep the local and national press in line? To show everyone who is in charge? To show everyone that the First Amendment is “well and good” on paper, as long as law enforcement approves? Bear in mind, police are allowed to maintain and protect their own confidential sources. And up to Turtleboy’s arrest this week, so were members of the media.

As for “running plates,” I used to legally run plates all time when I worked as a private detective in the 1980s. I would go to the RMV’s main office in downtown Boston with a list. Pay a nominal fee, which was less than $5 for each registration, and I would receive all the information I was looking for. The press could do the same. Those were the days when the State of Massachusetts could be mistaken as being “the land of the free.” But today there’s no mistake. Nobody’s free. The only people who can run license plates are members of law enforcement. The only people who can have confidential sources are the cops. The cops have access to everything now. They are the only ones with real liberty when it comes to investigating anything. The press has been cut off completely, left in the dark. The eyes and ears of the public have been covered up. “They” (meaning the government) can watch you. “They” can listen to you. “They” can wiretap after dotting all their “i”s and crossing all their “t”s. They can even look into your phones and computers. They can track your every move. They’re watching you. But who’s watching them?

The following is the actual “statement of facts” filed in Stoughton District Court by the investigator in charge of the Turtleboy case. It was un-redacted when I received it, but in light of how Turtleboy was treated, you’ll notice that HN chose to play it safe by taking the initiative to redact the trooper’s address, license plates, and phone numbers. I technically do not have to, but it’s getting close to the weekend and the last thing I want is to have a couple of troopers kicking my door in, hauling me in for alleged “intimidation.”

But let’s be real, “who’s intimidating who?”

The statement of facts filed by Brian Tully #3520, Detective Lieutenant, Norfolk SPDU: