"Turtleboy" blogger Aidan Kearney pleads not guilty to 16 new charges
DEDHAM - Aidan Kearney, the controversial blogger known as "Turtleboy," was in court Friday, where he pleaded not guilty to 16 new charges, including witness intimidation, in the Karen Read case.
On Wednesday, a special prosecutor said the indictments returned by a Norfolk County Grand Jury include eight counts of witness intimidation, three counts of conspiracy to intimidate witnesses, and five counts of picketing a witness.
Read is charged with second-degree murder in the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe. She has pleaded not guilty. In May, she told reporters, "We know who did it. We know. And we know who spearheaded this coverup. You all know."
Kearney has publicly questioned the investigation and filmed himself confronting witnesses in public.
Special Prosecutor Kenneth Mello said Kearney has "continued to violate the original conditions of bail" when he was arrested on witness intimidation charges back in October.
"It's clear that Mr. Kearney is encouraging his minions, his followers, in the context of his blogs and YouTubes, et cetera, to continue to harass witnesses," said Mello.
Mello said he understands Kearney's argument that he has First Amendment rights in covering the trial but he said the lines are being blurred.
"He is hiding behind the guise of a journalist and encouraging, basically as an activist, and when he's doing so, that's when we're going to ask your honor to preclude him from doing, and perhaps preclude him from mentioning the names of these particular witnesses," said Mello.
Kearney's attorney Timothy Bradl objected to the request to stop him from covering the case, arguing that his actions are protected by the First Amendment.
"How are you going to do this? Mr. Kearney has a First Amendment right to encourage people to exercise their First Amendment rights," said Bradl. "He's allowed to encourage them to speak out against what he sees as corruption, what he sees as mismanagement of the Read case."
The judge told Mello that he doesn't have the authority to tell Kearney to stop encouraging his readers to speak out. He said if Kearney commits a crime, he'll be brought back to court.