U.S. Judge Bill Pryor
Deputies from the Shelby County, Alabama, sheriff's office have made at least four visits to our house this week in the wake of my reporting about photos of U.S. Judge Bill Pryor that appeared at a gay porn Web site in the 1990s.On each occasion, at least two vehicles and two deputies came to our home and pounded on the door. At least two times, the second vehicle was a sports utility model that looks like it could be used for transporting prisoners. At least one time, three deputies appeared at our door step. (See video at the end of this post.)
What is going on? The only legitimate reason I can think for deputies to appear at my home would be if they were trying to serve court papers. According to press reports, Republican operative Jessica Medeiros Garrison has sued me for reporting about her extramarital affair with Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange.
I have not been served with papers in that case, although a reader informs me that court files show a process server claims, falsely, that I was served on September 18. If the court file shows I've been served--even though I haven't--there is no reason for deputies to be trying to serve me. Furthermore, the Garrison complaint apparently was filed in Jefferson County court, so it seems unlikely that Shelby County deputies would be attempting service.
Finally, it's hard to see why 2-3 deputies and 2-3 vehicles would be needed to serve papers.
So what's really going on? I can only guess, but I'm thinking a corrupt deputy filed an affidavit and a corrupt Shelby County judge signed it, approving a search warrant for our home. My guess is that someone is alleging that the photograph I published of Bill Pryor constitutes child pornography, and law enforcement in Alabama is trying to set me up on an absurdly bogus charge. At the least, they probably are trying to scare my wife and me.
Never mind that multiple sources told me, and I reported more than once, that the photos of Pryor were taken when he was a student at Northeast Louisiana University (now University of Louisiana Monroe). Never mind that the photo appeared with shots of at least 10 other young men in a gallery at an adult gay porn site called badpuppy.com. Never mind that Alabama law states that child pornography applies only to a subject who is under 17 years of age.
Bill Pryor doesn't look 16 in the photo, the other young men in the gallery clearly are not 16, and it's unlikely Bill Pryor was 16 when he entered college.
Do local officers plan to arrest me? I have no idea. But I know, for sure, they have no legitimate grounds to search our house, so that can only point to a campaign of intimidation or retaliation. It also might indicate they plan to confiscate my computer, which would be one way to shut down reporting on Legal Schnauzer.
Regardless of the plans, it all is unlawful--an example of real-life actions from jack-booted thugs. All of this, it seems clear, is driven by my audacity to report accurately about the ugly past of a sitting federal judge from Alabama.
Below is a brief video of one visit from officers. More extensive videos are in the works.
