Northeast
True crime reporters blocked outside courthouse where Karen Read is on trial file First Amendment lawsuit
Two New England true crime reporters have filed a lawsuit against Massachusetts State Police for allegedly blocking them from covering the news outside the courthouse where Karen Read’s second murder trial in the death of John O’Keefe kicked off this week.
The lawsuit stems from a court-ordered “buffer zone” to keep protesters at a distance, but the journalists allege police hassled them inside the zone even though it is not supposed to apply to those not protesting.
The lawsuit names Massachusetts State Police Superintendent Geoffrey Noble and MSP Sgt. Michael Hardman and includes two additional unnamed state troopers.
KAREN READ APPEALS DOUBLE JEOPARDY RULING TO US SUPREME COURT
Karen Read exits Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Dario Alequin for Fox News Digital)
“The Buffer Zone in Karen Read’s trial has now morphed into a ‘no journalism zone,’” the plaintiffs’ attorney, Marc Randazza, wrote on X in a post about the lawsuit. He is also representing four protesters who sued Judge Beverly Cannone earlier this week over the size of the no-protest area.
State police declined to comment, citing their policy on discussing pending litigation.
Media attention focuses on the courthouse for the arrival of Karen Read for her murder retrial at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
One of the plaintiffs is Michel Bryant, a true crime producer from Connecticut whose work has appeared on A&E, Hulu and Netflix. His lawyers say he was interviewing a man named John Delgado inside the buffer zone Tuesday.
PROBE OF TOWN POLICE IN KAREN READ CASE FINDS NO SIGN OF ‘CONSPIRACY TO FRAME’ SLAIN OFFICER’S GIRLFRIEND
Karen Read kissing John O’Keefe in an undated photograph. (Courtesy of Karen Read)
“The First Amendment is obviously sacrosanct, and the ability to report on a crime or a trial is crucial for reporters.”
KAREN READ AND JOHN O’KEEFE: INSIDE EVOLUTION OF BOSTON MURDER MYSTERY SINCE JULY MISTRIAL
While Bryant’s lawyers say Delgado was not actively protesting, he was wearing a sticker that said, “Real Justice for John O’Keefe FKR.”
Read the lawsuit:
FKR is an acronym for “Free Karen Read,” a slogan some of her supporters have used in protests outside the courthouse at past hearings.
GO HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE OF THE 2ND KAREN READ TRIAL
Critics of Karen Read gather outside the courthouse in Dedham, Mass., June 28, 2024. (Patriot Pics/Backgrid for Fox News Digital)
Two unidentified state police officers allegedly told Bryant he had to get outside the buffer zone and told Delgado his sticker has “gotta go” before taking it off his jacket.
“I don’t want to see you walking by here again,” the officer, identified only as John Doe 1, allegedly told Delgado.
An unnamed officer takes a sticker off John Delgado’s jacket in this still image from a livestream recorded by journalist Michel Bryant. (Courtesy of Michel Bryant)
Bryant, who is also an Emmy winner and a lawyer, posted a clip of the encounter to his YouTube channel, where the “Justice Served” podcast is co-hosted by Linda Kenney Baden, a high-profile criminal defense attorney and legal analyst.
Bryant told Fox News Digital he is not a “Free Karen Read person” and was covering the case like he has covered many trials over the years when the interaction took place.
Matthew Pervier of Worcester holds a sign he made in support of Karen Read outside of Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., April 16, 2024. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger)
“Were we arrested? No. Were we shot at, put in a headlock? No,” Bryant said. “But why can’t you walk down the public sidewalk, especially when the court order doesn’t address that issue?”
FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X
Also on Monday, podcaster Tom Derosier of “Seeking Justice with Tom and Mike,” alleged Sgt. Hardman “verbally assaulted him.”
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“You don’t have media credentials. You’ve got to go behind the buffer zone, OK, or you’re going to be subject to arrest,” Hardman allegedly told him. “Go follow them. You’re being told right now.”
Karen Read supporters rally on the front steps of the Registry of Deeds building. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
“I’m not media?” Derosier, a Massachusetts resident, asked, according to the lawsuit.
“No, you’re not,” Hardman allegedly replied.
Both men recorded the interactions and included them in court filings with the lawsuit.
“I think the reporters are probably on solid legal ground,” said Andrew Stoltmann, a Chicago-based attorney who has handled First Amendment cases in the past and teaches at Northwestern University’s School of Law.
“The judge has absolute powers in his courtroom to prevent parties or witnesses from talking about the case, but trying to gag a reporter that’s not in the courtroom is constitutionally very, very suspect for both the judge and the police officers who are trying to enforce it.”
Jury selection is underway for Read’s second trial. The first ended in a mistrial July 1 after jurors could not agree on a verdict.
She faces charges of murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a deadly hit-and-run for allegedly backing her Lexus SUV into O’Keefe in January 2022 and leaving him on the ground to die during a blizzard.
She has pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations, and her defense is arguing she was framed.
Read the full article from Here
A 9-year-old boy died Friday morning after a school bus hit him while he was crossing the street in Brooklyn, the police said.
The child, who has not been identified pending notification of his family, was struck around 8:18 a.m. at the intersection of Lee Avenue and Lorimer Street in the Williamsburg neighborhood as the bus driver turned left, the police said.
The boy was “unconscious, unresponsive” and had injuries to his head and body when the police arrived, officials said. Paramedics responded and transported him to Woodhull Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The police said the bus driver left the scene but returned; it was not immediately clear why.
In February, another child was killed by a school bus while crossing a street in Brooklyn, in the Bath Beach neighborhood. Amira Aminova, 11, had been waiting at the edge of an intersection when the pedestrian signal turned from a walk sign to a flashing red hand with a countdown timer, according to surveillance video. She started running across the crosswalk.
The bus driver appeared to have a green light, and began to make a right turn. Amira was halfway through the intersection by then, but the driver failed to yield and struck her.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani sent his condolences to the child’s family in a post on X on Friday, saying that he was “devastated” by the incident.
“Children should be safe walking around our city,” Mr. Mamdani wrote. “This horrific road death is a painful reminder that we must continue to use every tool available to make our streets safe for all New Yorkers.”
Lincoln Restler, a City Council member, said he was “heartbroken” about the accident that occurred in his district.
“This is one of the busiest intersections in Williamsburg, and I have requested that city agencies immediately make safety improvements,” Mr. Restler said in a statement.
Mr. Restler said he had asked the city’s Department of Transportation to expedite painting new markings at the intersection, which he said was recently under construction and lacked crosswalks and street markings. He also asked the department to analyze crosswalk signal timing for pedestrians and to make the signals longer to give people more time to walk.
“I have also asked the N.Y.P.D. to station a crossing guard here to help children cross safely,” Mr. Restler said.
FSU softball focuses on rival Florida. Here’s its approach on Wednesday
Here’s how Lonni Alameda and Florida State softball are preparing for its rivalry matchup against Florida. First pitch is at 6 p.m.
Jazzy Francik returned to the site of one of the toughest outings of her career and delivered a dominant performance.
The Florida State sophomore tossed her third career no-hitter and powered the Seminoles to a 10-0 win over Boston College in six innings Saturday at Harrington Athletics Village, moving FSU within one win of clinching the ACC regular-season title.
Francik (19-2) was in control from the first pitch, striking out six and allowing only one baserunner on an infield error in the fifth inning. She needed just 67 pitches to complete the no-hitter, the third of her career and one of the most efficient outings of her season.
Florida State’s offense gave its ace plenty of support, collecting 12 hits and scoring 10 runs. After a scoreless first inning, the Seminoles broke through in the second with three runs on RBI doubles by freshmen Haley Griggs and Makenna Sturgis.
FSU added four more runs in the fourth inning behind a two-run double from Jaysoni Beachum and an RBI single by Ashtyn Danley. The Seminoles put the run-rule into play in the sixth, scoring three times on an RBI single from Sturgis, an RBI double by Isa Torres and a sacrifice fly from Danley.
Beachum, Torres, Sturgis and Danley each drove in two runs as Florida State continued to pressure Boston College despite several highlight-reel defensive plays from the Eagles.
Francik and the Seminole defense sealed the no-hitter in the bottom of the sixth to end the game early.
Florida State is one win away from securing at least a share of the ACC regular-season championship. A sweep of Boston College on Sunday would clinch the title outright.
How to watch FSU vs. Boston College Game 2
- Date: Saturday, May 2
- Time: 4 p.m.
- Where: Harrington Athletics Village, Brighton, Massachusetts
- TV/Stream: ACC extra
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics and Big Bend Preps for the Tallahassee Democrat. If you like to pitch a story on a high school athlete, don’t hesitate to get in touch with him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
Outrage is building in a quiet Pittsburgh neighborhood.
Residents say they were blindsided by a plan to convert the former Fraternal Order of Police lodge on Banksville Road into a reentry center. The building could be turned into housing for up to 100 federal inmates, officials said.
Dismas Charities, an organization that operates federal halfway houses across the country, is behind the proposal. But neighbors say this isn’t the place.
“What will these people be doing when they’re not in the halfway house? Will they be law-abiding citizens and respect our community and its members?” questioned Judi Perry, a Shady Crest resident.
Concerns range from safety to proximity. Some fear the risk of repeat offenses, even though the facility is designed for rehabilitation. Residents point to past incidents tied to similar programs, including a case in Kentucky where an inmate left a facility and killed a police officer.
“We need to be better educated about how this facility would operate, what the parameters are for the people who stay there, and maybe, if we had more information, it would comfort us,” Perry said.
Inside a recent Pittsburgh Planning Commission presentation, Dismas Charities pitched the facility as a second-chance model.
“Over the past five years, we’ve had almost 40,000 residents participate in our programs nationally, and the rate of recidivism is .08 percent,” a Dismas Charities representative said at the meeting.
But that message isn’t landing here. Petitions are already circulating with hundreds of signatures collected. Neighbors say this fight is just beginning.
“We have preconceived notions about these people who were convicted and committed a crime. We don’t know what their crime was, and so maybe our concerns are exaggerated. But in general, you don’t like the idea of that facility being so close to our community,” Perry said.
A decision could come soon, as the commission is set to take this up in the coming days. If approved, it would still need additional sign-off before any inmates move in.
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