Reporter charged with prank call using S.D. governor’s cell

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A broadcast reporter has been charged with making a prank cellphone name utilizing South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s private cellphone quantity.

Stanley County Sheriff Brad Rathbun stated Austin Goss, who has been fired from his job because the capitol bureau reporter for Dakota Information Now, surrendered Thursday and was launched on a private recognizance bond.

The misdemeanor rely of constructing threatening, harassing, or deceptive contacts carries a most penalty of 1 yr’s imprisonment and $2,000 in fines.

On-line court docket paperwork point out that he’s representing himself, and he didn’t instantly reply to textual content or voicemail messages from The Related Press searching for remark. Noem’s spokesman, Ian Fury, declined to remark.

Dakota Information Now and KOTA Territory Information stated in a joint assertion that that they had terminated Goss’ employment with the stations, saying they have been “unaware of Mr. Goss’ actions and deeply remorse the shortage of judgment he confirmed.”

The recipient of the “harassing cellphone name” was recognized within the possible trigger assertion solely as a 50-year-old with the initials D.L., The Argus Chief reported. However Dan Lederman, the previous chair of the South Dakota Republican Get together, confirmed to the paper that he was the one who was referred to as on Jan. 22.

He had no additional remark, however a particular agent with the South Dakota Division of Prison Investigation wrote within the assertion that the decision got here from an internet site referred to as PrankDial, which was in a position to make it seem as if it was coming from Noem’s cellphone.

Within the pre-recorded name, a mafia member angrily accuses the recipient of stealing packing containers of vaccines, together with traces like “You telling me you didn’t inform Vito that you simply have been gonna attempt to transfer the three packing containers of that AstraZeneca outdoors this household?” The decision ends “You’ve simply been pranked by PrankDial.com.”

Lederman informed the investigator that Goss would “often textual content him snide or impolite remarks,” and stated the audio recording “brought on him concern for his security.”

Noem introduced in the future after the decision was made that she was urging the U.S. Legal professional Normal and a number of congressional committees to analyze the leaking of her household’s private data, together with her private cellphone quantity.

The earlier week, she demanded that the U.S. Division of Justice examine why her household’s social safety numbers have been leaked when Congress launched its findings within the Jan. 6 investigation.

Officers with the U.S. Legal professional Normal’s officer didn’t instantly reply to messages from the Argus Chief or the AP in regards to the new improvement.