Judge Dumps Iowa Prosecutors' Attempt To Jail An Activist For Sharing A Law Enforcement Document With Journalists

from the setting-fire-to-the-first-amendment-like-it's-just-an-american-flag dept

Polk County, Iowa prosecutors are making a name for themselves. And that name is "Enemy of the First Amendment." Earlier this year, Polk County prosecutor John Sarcone tried and failed to convict a Des Moines Register journalist for attending a protest and attempting to comply with conflicting orders from law enforcement.

According to the prosecutor, journalist Andrea Sahouri failed to disperse when ordered to, even though other cops at the same scene were simply telling people to "protest peacefully." Sahouri was attempting to document the protest and was arrested as she was moving away from the epicenter of the protest. This attempt to turn First Amendment protected activity into a crime failed and the prosecutor took a rather humiliating loss in a very public fashion.

Another prosecutor from the same office -- Thomas Miller -- has just suffered a similar, very public loss. Activist Viet Tran was arrested last summer after he shared a Des Moines Police Department bulletin with journalists during a televised interview. The PD claimed the document was super-secret and not shareable without committing a crime. The bulletin contained information about protesters targeted by the PD, including some who had vandalized a police car.

The prosecutor (along with the PD) attempted to turn the sharing of public interest info with journalists into a felony charge: unauthorized dissemination of intelligence data. Normally, that sort of charge would only be leveled at the person who had shared it with someone who did not have authorization to view it, like whoever leaked it to Tran. Tran isn't a police officer, so his acquisition and sharing shouldn't be a crime. But that's not how the prosecutor's office saw it. And, in keeping with the First Amendment shredding vindictiveness of this whole debacle, the PD never asked the journalist Tran shared the document with to remove it from her Twitter feed.

Following a failed attempt to keep Tran locked up until his trial by spiking his bail to $20,000 (rather than the usual $3,000 for Class D felonies), the prosecutors' office has earned its second straight loss in the same case. The court said that even if the government was right about this seeming misuse of "unauthorized dissemination" charges, it was wrong about the document's contents.

On Wednesday, the court agreed that the bulletin didn't meet the definition of intelligence data, which is defined by the Iowa Code as "information on identifiable individuals compiled in an effort to anticipate, prevent or monitor possible criminal activity."

"It was not compiled in an effort to anticipate, prevent or monitor possible criminal activity. The bulletin was prepared because the police department had concluded that criminal acts had already occurred," Fifth Judicial District Judge Jeffery Farrell wrote Wednesday in his order to dismiss the charge against Tran.

Making this loss even more of an embarrassment for the rightfully maligned prosecutors office (feel free to continue maligning in the comments) was the prosecutor's best argument for jailing Tran:

Assistant Polk County Attorney Thomas Miller argued in a court document that the "court is not constrained by this limited prior use of this statute." Anyone who disseminated intelligence information, including journalists, could be charged, he wrote.

Ah, but what about the journalist who posted the same document to Twitter? (Oh, and let's not forget the First Amendment.)

Andersen, the journalist Tran shared the bulletin with, was not charged because "the police have the ability to use discretion when deciding whom to recommend for criminal charges," Miller wrote.

There it is. That's the prosecutor admitting the government will abuse laws to punish people they think they can get away with punishing. Some troublemaking minority advocating on behalf of black victims of police violence? That's a felony. A journalist likely backed by her employer's legal team? That's a free pass.

Nice work there, Mr. Miller. Not only did you blow this case but you made it clear law enforcement isn't about enforcing laws. It's about keeping certain people in line. This is how prosecutorial "discretion" almost always works. It goes after the weakest, least protected members of our society and ignores anyone too rich, too white, or perhaps just too lawyered-up to push around.

Filed Under: 1st amendment, andrea sahouri, des moines police department, intimidation, iowa, john sarcone, journalism, polk county, thomas miller, viet tran

Adding To Its Long List Of Arrested Deputies, Polk County Sheriff Arrests Deputy For Capitol-Related Threats

from the pro-trump-euphoria-will-fade-long-before-the-sentence-ends dept

Another law enforcement officer has lost his job after being unable to accept the outcome of a national election. Lots of officers around the nation are under investigation for their participation in the Capitol Hill raid earlier this month. There's another name to add to that long list -- one who used to work for one of the worst law enforcement officials in the county, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. (h/t WarOnPrivacy)

Trump repeatedly made it clear he preferred cops to the people they served and would be willing to overlook almost any sin they committed, as long as they did it with a uniform on. Trump claimed not liking cops was "wrong" and that he would fix it. He praised extrajudicial killings by federal officers and encouraged beat cops to beat arrestees.

That love for cops is paying dividends. But probably not paying enough to offset the loss of a law enforcement salary. A Polk County deputy has been fired for threatening messages about the January 6 raid on the Capitol.

Judd said another deputy reported the action, making threats in connection with violence against the U.S. Capitol, to a lieutenant.

"Our deputy that reported this is a hero," Judd said, adding that the reporting deputy was also investigated but cooperated fully and is not in trouble.

The suspect is accused of a "mass shooting or act of terrorism" threat, Judd said.

Judd said Heneen had made comments such as "Need to make the streets of D.C. run red with the blood of the tyrants" and "should have dragged the tyrants into the streets and executed them."

The screenshots made public by Sheriff Judd show Deputy Peter Heneen stating he'll "fucking kill bitches," "slit the throats" of any federal officer who "touches his family," and promising to "make them suffer."

Now, Heneen is not only out of a job, but he's been arrested and charged. This is something that seems to happen to an alarming number of Grady Judd's deputies. Here's a recent sampling:

August 2013: Deputy Mark Hicks arrested for sending lewd messages and images to a 17-year-old girl. (This is especially ironic given Grady Judd's numerous stings utilizing deputies who pretend to be minors and engage in sexual conversations with adult targets.)

January 2014: Deputy Julio Garcia arrested and charged after sexually propositioning arrestees.

September 2015: Deputy Consuelo Gallego-Bias arrested for assaulting her husband.

July 2017: Deputy David Clark arrested for driving under the influence after crashing his car into a utility pole.

September 2017: Deputy Russell Hilson arrested for assaulting his girlfriend.

April 2018: Deputy Thomas Strickland arrested and suspended for assaulting his wife.

March 2018: Deputy Silvia Lara arrested for aggravated stalking, burglary, and misuse of the drivers license database.

October 2018: 19-year veteran Scott Walker arrested on sexual battery charges after groping and digitally penetrating a deputy trainee.

November 2019: Detective Dennis Jones, Jr. arrested and charged with 22 counts of falsifying records and forgery.

February 2020: Deputy Seth Morozowski arrested for driving while intoxicated.

May 2020: Deputy Alfredo Marenco arrested for driving under the influence.

May 2020: Detention deputy Yessenia Turcios arrested for domestic violence.

September 2020: Sheriff's Office employee Candace Lewis arrested for domestic battery and filing a false report.

So, there are a couple of ways of looking at this. The more positive take would be that Sheriff Judd doesn't tolerate criminal acts or misconduct and moves swiftly to charge and remove troublesome deputies. The more negative view would be that Judd's department attracts and hires thugs, miscreants, and people with self-control issues. It can also be both! Counter-productive, if true, but the job still pays the same whether you're making things better or just looking busy.

Filed Under: capitol, insurrection, peter heneen, police, polk county

Florida Sheriff Plans To Use Hurricane Irma To Bump Up Arrest Numbers, Fill His Jail

from the fuck-this-guy dept

Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County, Florida, spent most of Wednesday morning letting America know what an awful person he is. With Hurricane Irma bearing down on Florida, Judd helpfully suggested sex offenders or those with outstanding warrants would be better off lashing themselves to a nearby tree rather than seeking shelter.

If you go to a shelter for #Irma, be advised: sworn LEOs will be at every shelter, checking IDs. Sex offenders/predators will not be allowed

This part of it is awful enough, even as it's lawful enough. Florida law bans sex offenders from hurricane shelters, even though lots of registered sex offenders pose no threat to anyone around them. Some sex offenders are unrepentant pedophiles and rapists. But many, many others have been rung up for things like statutory rape, sexting, and other violations that should have zero effect on their ability to find housing, seek shelter, become meaningfully employed, etc.

But Judd didn't stop there. He probably should have. But Sheriff Grady Judd -- like other infamous sheriffs (Joe Arpaio, David Clarke, Of Nottingham, etc...): -- appears to thrive on hate and negative press coverage. So, Judd amped it up. Rather than make it appear his deputies would simply be enforcing the state's ridiculous sex offender laws, he piled on, adding everyone who might have an outstanding warrant, something that covers stuff as innocuous as unpaid parking tickets.

If you go to a shelter for #Irma and you have a warrant, we'll gladly escort you to the safe and secure shelter called the Polk County Jail

So, lots and lots of locals might consider possibly drowning, rather than being arrested, tossed into Judd's jail… and possibly drowning there. After all, it's not as though law enforcement officers feel obliged to ride out the storm while keeping an eye on people they barely consider to be people.

When Katrina hit, the Orleans Parish sheriff's office abandoned one of its jails, leaving 600 inmates to fend for themselves. Cells flooded, toilets backed up, the power went out, and by the end of it, the sheriff's department couldn't account for 517 of those inmates. In the aftermath of Harvey, the same thing is happening in Houston's jails, although officials there have been following through with better evacuation efforts. Still, prisoners are resorting to drinking contaminated toilet water as the water supplies have ceased functioning and inmates are reporting cells with standing water 4-6" deep.

So, a jail is not a "safe and secure shelter" by any stretch of the imagination. It's not even "safe and secure" outside of the hurricane context. Multiple inmates have died in Judd's jail -- none of them of old age. Polk County deputies also allegedly abused arrested children (yes, the state's effed-up laws allow children to be jailed in adult prisons) and engaged in sexual misconduct with arrestees.

But this sort of thing is what one expects of Sheriff Judd. The man has built quite a reputation on destroying lives. Most of this comes through Judd's bizarre obsession with sexual crimes. His office runs sting operations even prosecutors have backed away from because they border on entrapment. He has repeatedly engaged in extraterritorial arrests, sending his deputies all over the nation to arrest alleged pedophiles.

That's what he engages in when not grandstanding around making statements like "I'm going to go lock the CEO of Apple up" if Apple won't help him break into an encrypted iPhone or iPad. And now there's this: Judd letting everyone know they'll need to pass an impromptu background check to be allowed to escape the brunt of Hurricane Irma's landfall.

But the last laugh may belong to everyone but Judd if he carries through on this threat. Those who don't -- or won't -- seek shelter may have to be rescued by members of his department. And several of those are going to include people he hates, like sex offenders and people who won't pay their parking tickets. Because, unlike Judd, we're not cruel: we legitimately hope that none of his deputies lose their lives rescuing people who might have been safely inside a shelter if not for Judd's awful threats to lock people up.

Filed Under: florida, grady judd, grandstanding, huricanes, hurrican irma, irma, polk county

Publicity Seeking Florida Sheriff Promises To Put Tim Cook In Jail For Refusing To Decrypt iPhones

from the the-crazy-sheriffs-are-acting-up-again dept

We've written quite a few times about Polk County, Florida, Sheriff Grady Judd. You may recall him from the time he arrested two teenagers because they admitted to "bullying" another teen who committed suicide. Judd also promised to arrest the parents of both girls as well, stretching an already ridiculous understanding of the law to absolute breaking points (in fact all of the charges were dropped against the girls, because, all the talk of bullying was basically not true).

Judd also has made news for falsely arresting and then publicly shaming men, saying that they're "sexual predators" and parading them in front of the press, seizing their money and possessions and then "negotiating" to only give them back some of what they seized. Oh, and then there was the time that Judd used Craigslist to help arrest prostitutes... but then blamed Craigslist for the problem.

Judd certainly has a reputation for generating press attention by saying the most outrageous things, and he's keeping that up now, by holding a press conference to announce that if Apple CEO Tim Cook doesn't decrypt an iPhone for him, Judd will arrest Cook. Yeah, good luck with that plan.

"Let me tell you, the first time we do have trouble getting into a cell phone, we're going to seek a court order from Apple and when they deny us I'm going to go lock the CEO of Apple up," Judd said in a press conference Wednesday.

Another report of the press conference said that Judd followed this up, for emphasis, with: "I'll lock the rascal up."

Yeah, you see, that's not how the law actually works. And you'd think, as Sheriff, Judd should know that. But he doesn't. Or he does and he doesn't care. Neither of which is a good sign in a sheriff.

"You cannot create a business model to go, 'we're not paying attention to the federal judge or to the state judge, because we're above the law,'" Judd said.

Of course, that's not the issue at all. It's not about ignoring a judge, it's about building a secure product, and what kinds of things a court can or cannot force a company to do to the security of its products. No one is saying they're "above the law." Except, it seems, Sheriff Grady Judd, who thinks that he can put Apple's CEO in jail based on his own desires, rather than what the law actually says.

Filed Under: encryption, free speech, grady judd, law, polk county, tim cook, warrants
Companies: apple

How Florida Police Falsely Arrest & Shame Men As Child Sexual Predators, Steal Their Cars... Then Try To Hide The Records

from the for-the-children! dept

Eric Goldman calls our attention to a rather astounding story out of Florida, involving how various Florida police departments are engaging in what appears to be basically sham "sting" operations online to arrest and shame men as child sexual predators, then steal their cars (sometimes offering to sell them back), and then doing everything possible to hide the records. The whole thing is quite crazy, and I recommend reading the entire thing. It also comes as little surprise that one of the sheriffs deeply involved in this is Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd -- who we've written about a few times before. Back in 2009 we wrote about Judd using Craigslist to find and arrest prostitutes... and then blaming Craigslist, the very tool he used to track down the lawbreakers. A year ago, Judd got a lot more attention for his plan to arrest parents of some girls who were accused of bullying another girl into committing suicide (though, eventually charges were dropped and almost no evidence of any bullying was found).

Those past stories fit with the same pattern that WTSP's "10 Investigates" reporter Noah Pransky found in researching these stings. You know the basics of how these stings work, because they appear to be police-led versions of the famed "To Catch A Predator" TV show. But, quite frequently, the actual cases seem to involve the police going after men who were seeking adult companions, and then doing everything possible to try to convince them that they're interested in minors:

In the case of a 27-year-old Cape Coral man, arrested during the Lee County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) sting this past May, deputies arrested him even though he didn't even travel to meet a child for sex. Law enforcement officers responded to the man's legal "casual encounters" Craigslist ad, pretending to be a 14-year-old girl, even though the ad said, "age for all women must be 18+ no one under email me plz."

The man repeatedly told the undercover detectives that he was "not OK" with meeting up with an underage girl, but because he didn't immediately end the conversation, he was arrested for utilizing his phone to solicit a sexual act from a child. Detectives went to his house and arrested him as a sexual predator of children.

Prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute on either of the accused charges, yet the accusations and man's name remain on LCSO's online press releases and other media outlets' news stories.

Even in some cases where this cajoling and pushing by the police led someone to say OK, the details seem fairly questionable:

A 19-year-old man in Orange Co. was accused of soliciting the guardian of a 13-year-old decoy to arrange sex with her. But the evidence proved differently, as the man was merely responding to an innocuous ad from a 26-year-old woman, which was posted by law enforcement. The detective later tried to convince the man to have sex with the woman's "younger sister," even though he showed little interest.

According to notes from the prosecutor, "this is a tough case" because of "entrapment issues." The man chatted with what he believed to be a 26-year-old woman for five days and the "Law Enforcement Officer suggest(ed) sex first on 2nd day." The defendant said several times he wasn't interested in the 13-year-old, even suggesting he bring a younger teenager boy for the girl when the detective kept bringing the teenager into the discussion. The prosecutor also noted the "law enforcement officer again suggests illegal sex 2 more times" but the defendant was non-committal."

Ultimately, after hundreds of text messages, the man agreed to sex with both females, and was arrested upon arrival. The state declined to prosecute, but the accusations and man's name remain public record.

As the report notes, many of these men are cleared or no charges are ever actually brought against them, but they're still publicly shamed in press releases, declaring them child predators. To add insult to injury, the police often steal their cars, using questionable asset seizure laws:

Sex stings have become especially rich sources for seizures, since almost every man arrested is accused of traveling to seduce, solicit, or entice a child to commit a sexual act…even though no real children are ever involved in the stings. However, the accusations are felonies, meaning law enforcement can seize suspect's vehicles, making it extremely difficult for them to ever get them back without paying thousands of dollars – or more - in cash to the arresting agency.

For example, in one January 2014 sting where the Clearwater Police Department (CPD) and Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) arrested 35 men in a single weekend, CPD seized 19 cars as their own under Florida's Contraband Forfeiture Act.

And even when the people are cleared or charges are dropped, they often have to pay up to get their own cars back, if they can get them back at all:

One 24-year-old man, arrested in the January sting in Clearwater, had to pay $10,000 cash to get his 2014 Lexus returned. And even though all felony charges were later dropped in his case, he will not get the money back for either the negotiated settlement or the fees he paid an attorney to handle the vehicle case.

Grady Judd's Polk County is also noted as seizing $15,900 from someone and then "negotiating" to give him back half of it and keeping the other half.

And, of course, the police who are engaged in all of this are also lying about the seriousness of "the problem" while doing everything they can to hide the real details from public view. The article quotes Judd again, insisting that men seeking children was a major problem in South Florida, but the actual evidence -- obtained by WTSP -- shows otherwise, with prosecutors quietly admitting that they have zero cases actually showing that happening.

In 2013, a prosecutor declined to pursue "traveler" charges against a man caught in an Osceola Co. sting because the "state tried to find evidence that the crime of solicitation of minor via computer (parent) was taking place…there are no known cases."

The prosecutor notes the detective "asked ICAC affiliate + the FBI and was able to come up with about 5 examples Nationwide. None in Central FL."

Another Osceola Co. prosecutor in the case of a 21-year-old defendant wrote, "biggest concern was entrapment argument b/c the LE Operation was not really addressing on-going criminal activity…There have been NO documented cases in this area of parents being solicited on-line for sex w/their minor children."

But WTSP was only able to find this out via accessing court records -- and not via public information requests.

10 Investigates has pushed to see other records from law enforcement officers responding to legal dating ads on legal dating sites, but almost every request has been refused. Often, public record exemptions are cited, ranging from "active investigation" to "confidential surveillance techniques," but a Lee County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said records from their June sting had already been destroyed by July.

Similarly, in a related report, WTSP quoted Judd blocking access to such records:

Judd says the records are exempt from state records laws because all of those men are still "under investigation," for they may surface in future stings. However, that indicates Judd - and other law enforcement leaders around Tampa Bay and Sarasota who have now used the same exemption to withhold records - have active investigations open on hundreds, if not thousands, of men who did nothing more than legally communicate with adults on legal websites.

That same article notes that of the 1,200 men arrested as "sexual predators," 97% have zero history of sexual crimes -- and further notes how the police have no problem continuing to shame even men who are cleared:

The state's best-known lawman also showed little concern for due process during a Tuesday press conference to tout arrests since March in predator-style stings. He pointed to 132 mugshots on a giant posterboard and called the men "sexual predators."

But when 10 Investigates pointed out some of the men had already been cleared of charges, he said they were still fair game because "we have a very liberal - a very forgiving - criminal justice system."

That system may give defendants the benefit of doubt and assume "innocent until proven guilty;" but Judd makes sure the mugshots and stigma of being arrested for a sex crime haunts the men for the rest of their lives.

That statement is fairly incredible, but it gives you some insight into the mindset of Judd and some others involved in these efforts. These people are guilty no matter what -- and they will do anything to get them arrested, and then even once they are cleared of any charges, the police will continue to treat them as guilty.

None of this is to diminish the very horrific and tragic reality of situations that do involve actual sexual predators. Those people should be investigated and caught if possible. But what's happening in Florida doesn't seem to have anything to do with legitimately going after predators. Instead, it seems like a combination of entrapment, bogus online stings, high profile shaming of innocent people, stealing their property through asset seizure laws and then abusing public records laws to cover up the details.

Filed Under: arrests, florida, grady judd, police, polk county, public records, seizures, sexual predators

Sheriff Uses Craigslist To Arrest Prostitutes... Blames Craigslist

from the cognitive-dissonance? dept

Reader cKarlGo points us to a story in Florida of local police arresting 28 women and six men on prostitution-related charges, after finding them all on Craigslist. They then used phone and email to negotiate with the women in order to confirm that they were selling sexual acts. Afterwards, they made the arrests. But here's the kicker: the sheriff is still blaming Craigslist:

"How can Craigslist allow this kind of content on their (Web) site and then state "We're not involved in any kind of criminal conduct,""

Well, it's actually quite simple. I would imagine that, right now, somewhere in Sheriff Grady Judd's jurisdiction, there are other prostitutes walking the streets. By Judd's own logic, I should be asking why Polk County is involved in criminal conduct. After all, it's happening in his jurisdiction. It's just that it's happening on the street. Or it might be on Craigslist. But it's neither the fault of the street nor Craigslist -- which is nothing more than a virtual street.

But, more to the point, why isn't Sheriff Judd also blaming the telephone company and his internet provider? After all, Judd used three tools to find and communicate with these prostitutes: Craigslist, email and the telephone. The phone company allowed the prostitutes to make phone calls. Internet providers allowed the prostitutes to email. By Judd's logic they're "involved in criminal activity."

In the meantime, what kind of thought process does it take to use a tool to help you crack down on prostitution, and then blame it for the prostitution? How hard is it for Sheriff Judd to recognize that Craigslist is an incredibly useful tool for his staff to find and arrest prostitutes. You would think that having just used the tool for that very purpose he might realize that it's a great tool for catching prostitutes. So why is he blaming it?

Filed Under: blame, florida, grady judd, polk county, prostitution
Companies: craigslist