STOUGHTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A Holden man who operates the local website “Turtleboy” was taken into custody and arraigned on multiple witness intimidation charges on Wednesday.
Aidan Kearney, 41, appeared in Stoughton District Court where he pleaded not guilty to eleven charges, including multiple counts of witness intimidation related to the trial of Karen Read, who stands accused of the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe.
According to prosecutors, the blogger had been allegedly intimidating witnesses and investigators associated with the case.
“A local blogger, the defendant, Aidan Kearney had adopted the defense’s claims,” Special Prosecutor Kenneth Mello told the court.
Read is accused of backing her SUV over O’Keefe and leaving him to die in a snowbank outside of a home in Canton back in January 2022.
Her attorneys have previously said their client is being framed for O’Keefe’s death, and claim there is a cover-up.
“My client states that he is a news person who is using his 1st Amendment rights to cover the story,” Kearney’s attorney said in court, stating that his client has no criminal background and that he has been offering up his Constitutionally-protected opinion.
Acknowledging his cheering supporters outside the courthouse after being released by the judge, Kearney proclaimed his innocence and promised to continue to speak his mind about the case.
“This is a gross exercise of state power, this is what fascism looks like, and as journalists, we should all be concerned,” he said.
Kearney was released on personal recognizance, but was ordered to have no contact directly or indirectly with several of the witnesses and investigators associated with the Read case.
He is due back in court in December.
(Copyright (c) 2023 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)