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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?”
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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.
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Sports
When reminiscing about sports moments and personalities of days gone by, the familiar anecdotes are often a joy to hear again and again.
Even better, though, is when there are fresh new stories to be told by those who were there.
The new YouTube channel Front Row to Boston Sports offers both familiar tales and ones you may not have heard before, as told by four of the most connected journalists and best storytellers in the modern annals of sports in this region.
Legendary former sports anchors Mike Lynch (Channel 5) and Bob Lobel (Channel 4), along with Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy and former Globe columnist Bob Ryan, have teamed up to share the funniest, most heartfelt, and illuminating tales from their storied careers, from press row and the locker room.
The project is the brainchild of Peter Brown, a former news director at Channel 4, where he spent 22 years before moving on to an accomplished career in public affairs and communications.
“You come from a news background, you’re always thinking about what’s the best way to tell a story,” he said. “What better story is there to tell than those about Boston sports? Everyone who is from here or has lived here is in some degree a fan. I thought a look back at some great moments and some behind-the-scenes details that only the most plugged-in reporters would know would be a fun thing to do.”
So Brown reached out to Alan Miller, a former sports producer at Channel 4 who worked with Brown during the local news heyday in the 1980-90s. Miller, who later worked at the Globe and in the Channel 7 newsroom before retiring in May 2024, has long been one of the most well-liked figures in the Boston sports media landscape, someone who knows everyone and whose word is as good as a signature on the dotted line.
Miller thought it was a super idea, and reached out to his close friend Lobel, along with Lynch, Shaughnessy, and Ryan. They all said yes immediately.
“We basically said, just tell us your best stories,” said Miller. “We wanted the stories that maybe you couldn’t tell on TV or in the newspaper, but the ones you might have told your buddies at the bar. The ones about what people are really like and what gets said behind the scenes. The ones about relationships. These were the four perfect guys to tell those.”
Currently, there are eight clips posted on the channel, ranging in length from just longer than three minutes (Ryan talking about his top five all-time Celtics) to 13 minutes (Shaughnessy sharing an assortment of Terry Francona stories). One of Lobel’s clips includes an emotional discussion of Ted Williams, while Lynch is especially insightful talking about Bill Belichick’s candor off camera during their old Bellistrator segments.
Brown and Miller plan to sprinkle out a few new clips each week. Since the project has been in the works for approximately a year, they were able to build up a catalogue of 30 clips before launch.
Miller said there’s another reason that everyone involved wanted to be part of the project — the fear that institutional knowledge about Boston sports isn’t what it used to be because of the changing media landscape.
“When I was at Channel 7, John Havlicek died, and I think there were about three people in the newsroom who knew how John Havlicek was,” he said. “It’s not their fault, a lot of them are 20-something kids and half of them are from out of town.
“But there can be a real lack of knowledge about the past. And Boston sports, as you know, has an amazing past. You’d like the legacy and the memories to stay alive.”
It’s no surprise that Patriots television ratings have risen this season corresponding with the team’s return to prominence.
But even if the rise in ratings is logical, some of the heights that they are reaching — or returning to, a half-dozen years after Tom Brady’s final season in New England — are remarkable.
Take last Sunday’s 35-31 loss to the Bills, which aired at 1 p.m. on CBS as a regional broadcast. The game had a 31.4 household rating and 78 share in Boston.
That household rating — the percentage of households in a defined area tuned in to a program at a given time — is the highest for any Patriots game on any network since the regular season finale against the Dolphins in 2021. That also happens to be the last season the Patriots made the playoffs.
The 78 share — the percentage of households with television in use — is reminiscent of the viewership the Patriots enjoyed during the dynasty. As noted here previously, the Patriots averaged a 35.3 household rating and 66 share in 2018, their most recent Super Bowl-winning season.
Nine of the Patriots’ 14 games have aired on CBS this season. Those broadcasts have averaged a 25.7 household rating and 73 share, up 35 percent from last year (19.0/59) through the same span.
Overall last Sunday, the 1 p.m. slot — which also included the Chargers-Chiefs matchup — was a massive success for CBS, averaging 18.9 million viewers across the games. That made it the most-watched regional window on any network in 37 years.
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A woman was rushed to the hospital after being seriously hurt in a fire Saturday in Rocky Hill.
This all unfolded during the late morning hours at a home on Main Street.
Fire officials say they had to rescue the woman from the home and her injuries are considered life threatening.
Hoarding conditions did a play a factor in the fire, according to the fire department.
No other injuries were reported. Further details pertaining to the fire weren’t immediately available.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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