‘Turtleboy’ jailed following alleged domestic dispute

Aidan Kearney, the polarizing blogger/journalist and a driving force behind the “Free Karen Read” movement, was led out of Dedham District Court in handcuffs on Tuesday and could see up to 90 days behind bars after a judge revoked his bail during an arraignment on new charges for domestic assault and battery and witness intimidation.

Kearney, who operates the Turtleboy website and related social media pages, pleaded not guilty to the charges, which stem from an alleged dispute with an ex-girlfriend that occurred at her Medfield home late last week.

According to multiple news reports, the woman who lodged the charges claims that Kearney grabbed her and pushed her during an argument over her alleged participation in an ongoing criminal investigation into Kearney’s conduct.

In a story published Tuesday by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette citing the affidavit read in court, the woman stated that she feared retaliation by Kearney while claiming that he had bragged to her about his ability to “destroy” people’s lives. The woman said she had received a subpoena to testify against Kearney and that during their meeting, he instructed her to delete all conversations with him from her phone.

After the alleged assault, the woman then went to police to procure an emergency restraining order, and on Christmas Eve, Medfield Police issued a lookout notice (BOLO) for Kearney, who remained unaccounted for until Tuesday, when he reportedly turned himself in to authorities.

In a post on his Turtleboy Facebook page, an administrator claimed that Kearney was being framed for A&B, and his attorney, Tim Bradl, dismissed the allegations as a “complete set of lies from a troubled woman.” On Christmas Day, prior to turning himself in, Kearney also posted a 15-minute audio clip to YouTube that he claims was taken from the argument he had with the victim. In the clip, an unidentified woman accuses Kearney of blackmailing her and threatening her children, which Kearney repeatedly denies.

While Braidl made his case in court on Tuesday for why Kearney’s bail should not be revoked, the judge ultimately sided with special prosecutor Kenneth Mello, who has been appointed to handle all charges against Kearney. Mello alleged that Kearney’s conduct during his argument with the woman not only constitutes witness intimidation but occurred less than 24 hours after he was arraigned in the same Dedham courthouse for a slew of witness intimidation charges related to his investigation into the Read case.

Kearney was originally arrested at his Holden home in October and arraigned in Stoughton District Court on charges that he intimidated several individuals who are tied in some way to the investigation into the January 2022 death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe. Prosecutors allege that Read, who was O’Keefe’s girlfriend, slammed her SUV into O’Keefe shortly after dropping him off to attend a party at the home of Brian Albert, a fellow BPD officer. Kearney, however, shares the view of Read’s attorneys, who claim that Read is innocent of all charges and is being framed by investigators.

The updated list of charges against Kearney that was returned by a grand jury last week includes eight counts of intimidating a witness, five counts of picketing a witness, and three counts of conspiracy to intimidate a witness. The later charge pertains to an alleged agreement that Kearney entered into with a civilian dispatcher who worked in the Avon Police Department to locate the owners of multiple license plates using a state database.

In outlining the other charges against Kearney, prosecutors have cited numerous instances in which he allegedly harassed witnesses through a combination of verbal statements, direct confrontations, sharing of personal information, and visits to their homes, places of business, and in at least one instance, a children’s sporting event.

Kearney, who has denied all wrongdoing and insists that his conduct is protected by the First Amendment, is due to next appear in court in February on the 16-count indictment and is expected to be back for a pre-trial hearing on the two new charges sometime next month.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Dec 28 2023. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.