For the primary time, a blogger identified for attracting massive crowds to Norfolk Superior Court hearings of homicide suspect Karen Read was not a spectator.
Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney appeared for his midday arraignment on 16 counts of witness intimidation and conspiracy associated to his protection of the case sporting not one speck of his signature inexperienced, nor any turtle emblem or sample. Instead, he wore a cream go well with, a lightweight blue shirt, and a darkish blue tie, suggesting a brand new seriousness to the proceedings.
He pleaded not responsible.
And he obtained an early Christmas current Friday: he was launched on private recognizance and now absent the varied restrictions imposed on him when the case was on the District Court stage, which included stay-away orders from numerous witnesses within the Read case, from whom he was additionally barred from “directly or indirectly” harassing or encouraging his followers to focus on.
Kearney, of Holden, who turns 42 subsequent week, was indicted Wednesday by a Norfolk Grand Jury on 16 counts: eight counts of witness intimidation, three counts of conspiracy to intimidate witnesses, and 5 counts of picketing a witness.
While Kearney’s arraignment on these expenses Friday was not practically as raucous as Read’s personal final court docket look, his followers who he calls and who name themselves “Turtle Riders,” have been again in droves. While the normal T-shirts blaring “Free Karen Read” have been nonetheless probably the most conspicuous, new slogans had additionally appeared: “Free Aidan Kearney” and “Journalism is not a crime” written round his mugshot.
Special Prosecutor Kenneth Mello, a Fall River legal professional specifically appointed to prosecute this case, arrived to court docket with a safety element to slice by way of the horde of followers who had gathered for the listening to.
“Obviously this hearing today is not being held in a vacuum,” Mello started, earlier than saying he didn’t must summarize the fees towards Kearney however did ask that Kearney be launched on private recognizance, however with stricter circumstances of launch.
“One of the problems we have is the defendant continues to violate the original conditions of bail,” he argued earlier than Judge Peter Krupp, which drew some chuckles from the followers assembled within the gallery. “It’s clear that Mr. Kearney is continuing to encourage his minions, his followers, to harass witnesses in (the Read) case.”
But Krupp stated the Superior Court is underneath a distinct algorithm than the district court docket and requested Mello to quote case regulation that may permit him to impose such circumstances with out Kearney’s consent. It could be totally different underneath a dangerousness listening to or if bail was imposed, however Mello sought neither route.
On the steps of the courthouse, the place Kearney himself has held court docket, his protection legal professional Tim Bradl disparaged the case towards his shopper.
“It’s an incredibly weak case. Every bit of conduct here is First Amendment-protected activity,” Bradl stated.
And he additionally personally praised his shopper.
“I always laugh when I hear people call him a blogger, like he’s sitting in his parent’s basement,” Bradl instructed the Herald later. “He’s one of the best investigative journalists I’ve ever met. He’s developed incredible scoops in (the Read) case.”
Karen Read, of Mansfield, is charged with the homicide in late January 2022 of her boyfriend of two years, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, by backing into him along with her SUV after the pair had an evening out ingesting in two Canton bars after which have been invited to an after-party at 34 Fairview Road.
Read’s protection has supplied a hearty problem to that narrative and has alleged that fellow Boston cop Brian Albert, who owned that residence on the time, in addition to Albert’s sister-in-law Jennifer McCabe, are those in the end responsible for O’Keefe’s dying and have helped to orchestrate a cover-up. Both Albert and McCabe have retained their very own attorneys within the case.
Kearney is a robust defender and promoter of the protection principle and has produced a major variety of writings and movies delving ever deeper into the subject. It is in these pursuits that prosecutors say that he has harassed and intimidated witnesses and enjoined his followers to do the identical. Or, as Mello put it: “He’s hiding behind the guise of a journalist to in fact be an activist.”
Kearney’s protection has amassed a fervent fan base, who got here to the workday listening to not solely as an indication of assist for Turtleboy, but additionally to hold round for private pictures with Kearney and get his autograph.
“I’m blown away by the support. I feel like this issue has united left and right,” Kearney stated. “People who even when they may not have agreed with me on matters I’ve written about earlier than, I feel we are able to all agree that authorities abuse and corruption is one thing that unites all of us.
“And my coverage of the Karen Read story has gotten me a lot of different readers who might not have liked the content I have produced before,” he continued, including that the circumstances towards Read, himself and others “is a threat to justice everywhere, is a threat to the First Amendment.”
On Wednesday, police dispatcher Jannell Webb, of Hanson was indicted on three expenses: unlawfully conspiring with Kearney to intimidate Jennifer McCabe, Elizabeth Proctor, and Michael Proctor, a Massachusetts State Police detective assigned to the Read case.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”