Massachusetts shells 'Turtleboy' blogger with criminal charges in First Amendment fight

A controversial Massachusetts writer known as "Turtleboy" faces several criminal charges, including witness intimidation, for his outspoken defense of a woman on trial for allegedly killing her boyfriend.

Prosecutors allege Aidan Kearney sent "harassing, threatening and intimidating" messages to witnesses and investigators in the criminal case against Karen Read, who is accused of running over John O'Keefe, a Boston Police officer.

Kearney runs a blog, on which he covers the case — among other local news — like a reporter. He's also been outspoken in protests defending Read, but prosecutors allege his activism crossed a line.

His lawyer told the judge his client "vehemently denies" the accusations when Kearney pleaded not guilty, saying his client's opinions are protected by the First Amendment. 

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Massachusetts blogger Aidan Kearney, better known locally as "Turtleboy," leaves a courthouse after pleading not guilty to witness intimidation, among other charges. (Aiden Kearny (@DoctorTurleoy)/X)

Kearney was cuffed and flanked by two court officers as he listened to prosecutors in Norfolk County detail accusations against him during a 45-minute court appearance Wednesday. 

The prosecutor alleged Kearney was "showing up" at sporting events of witnesses' children and "made scenes," harassed and photographed witnesses at their homes and jobs and instructed followers of his blog to do the same.

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The prosecutor read some of Kearney's posts that he allegedly wrote on his blog, which include over 160 entries about the alleged coverup in Read's murder trial, as well as profanity-laced segments of YouTube videos and messages that allegedly include "threats to witnesses and their friends."

The prosecution detailed specific allegations for over 30 minutes. 

Massachusetts blogger Aidan "Turtleboy" Kearney was charged with witness intimidation for allegedly threatening witnesses in a murder case in Massachusetts.  (Aidan Kearney(@DoctorTurleboy)/X)

Kearney's lawyer responds

Kearney's lawyer identified his client as a "newsperson who has a right to cover a story" during Wednesday's court appearance.

"When I read the statements that the prosecution read, I see opinions. I don't see threats," Kearney's lawyer said in court. "If any of his statements violated YouTube policy, they could've had them all taken down."

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Kearney was released on personal recognizance with the requirement he does not have any contact with people connected to Read's murder case, including Massachusetts State Police investigators.

"Turtleboy" posted a picture on X, formerly Twitter, with his arms raised and a "Free Karen Read" hoodie after he left the courthouse. 

The next morning, he accused law enforcement of intimidation in a tweet. 

"Men with guns showed up at my house, tore it apart, took my computer and phones and handcuffed me in full view of my kids as they got on the school bus," Kearney tweeted. "I’m not the one guilty of intimidation."

Kearney is facing multiple counts of intimidation of a witness, juror or law enforcement official, as well as one count of conspiracy. 

He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Background of the murder case against Karen Read

The criminal case against the controversial blogger "Turtleboy" has taken on a life of its own but is a side circus to a murder case against Read, which has become just as wild.

In January 2022, Read allegedly ran over O'Keefe, whom she was dating at the time, and left him unconscious on the lawn of a home in Canton, Massachusets, a town southwest of Boston. 

She was charged with second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while impaired and leaving the scene of an accident and pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

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But her defense team argued O’Keefe was beaten in the basement of the home after he was dropped off at the home owned at the time by fellow Boston Police officer Brian Albert, and the family dog, a German shepherd, attacked him and injured his right arm.

Kearney told Fox News Digital in an X message, "It speaks volumes that instead of looking to find John O'Keefe's murderer, these detectives, who are close family friends of the Alberts, dedicated time and resources to charging me with witness intimidation for asking the questions that they won’t.

"It’s a sad day for America when our police force is weaponized against journalists in order to protect cop killers."

Karen Read appears in Norfolk County Superior Court for a pretrial hearing. She is charged with the murder of her boyfriend, John O'Keefe, in Dedham, Mass., May 3. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

The case has drawn national attention amid the defense’s claims of an alleged wide-ranging cover-up that includes law enforcement allegedly working together to frame Read for O’Keefe’s death, allegations authorities vehementaly deny. 

Part of the alleged cover-up is the 22 months that have elapsed without going to trial, her lawyers argued.

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"Any suggestion that we’re desperately withholding evidence from the defense because we’re afraid as to what it might show is just adamantly ridiculous," Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally said during a September court appearance. 

He said evidence continues to be tested at a state crime lab. 

"Once this sort of round of testing is completed, we will certainly pick those items up and make them available for counsel," he added.

The defense for Karen Read holds up a poster containing information it claims exonerates its client in the murder of John O'Keefe in Dedham, Mass., May 3. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Read's lawyer, David Yannetti, said during last month's court appearance, "There will be no conviction because the evidence establishes her innocence.

"There’s no jury anywhere who will ever vote to convict her for a crime she did not commit."

Norfolk County DA's own words

Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey posted a video message targeting "conspiracy theories" in August while condemning allegations against Michael Proctor, a state police trooper being accused of planting evidence outside the residence.

"Innuendo is not evidence. False narrative are not evidence," Morrissey said in the video statement. 

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"We try people in the court and not on the internet and for a reason. The internet has no rules of evidence. The internet has no punishment for perjury. 

"And the internet does not know all the facts. Conspiracy theories are not evidence."  

Karen Read at Norfolk County Superior Court for a pretrial hearing. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

The judge ordered prosecutors to have DNA testing completed by Nov. 3 and set a two-week deadline for the government to provide information detailing police searches of the Canton home.

The defense is also seeking video footage from a Nest camera in the home the night of Jan. 29, 2022, but the homeowner has claimed the camera was not set up or recording. 

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Read is next due in court Dec. 8. 

Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

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