Judge rules ‘Turtleboy’ may attend Read trial
Blogger has written extensively about case
Aidan Kearney, the blogger known as “Turtleboy” who is accused of harassing and intimidating witnesses in the Karen Read case, will be able to attend her trial in person, a judge ruled Friday.
Kearney, 42, of Holden, is charged separately with violating a restraining order taken out by a former girlfriend. On Friday, a judge “vacated the restraining order whenever Aidan is within 50 yards of any Massachusetts courthouse,” according to Kearney’s lawyer, Tim Bradl.
“He’s allowed to cover the Read case and every other courthouse and she won’t be able to go there and flush him out with the restraining order,” Bradl said.
The special prosecutor in the case, Robert C. Cosgrove, couldn’t be reached for comment.
Kearney has written extensively about the Read case and has built a large online following. Read’s accused of backing into her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, with her SUV on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. She has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of an accident causing personal injury and death.
Jury selection in the Read case concluded Wednesday with opening statements slated for Monday.
Kearney’s former girlfriend took out a restraining order against him in December after he allegedly assaulted her in her home while discussing the Read case, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors say the woman had spoken with investigators about Kearney’s coverage of the case.
Kearney was arrested and charged with assault and intimidating a witness, but the assault charge was later dropped. He also faces a charge of illegal wiretapping for allegedly recording the woman without her knowledge.
Prosecutors said Kearney violated a condition of the restraining order in February that prohibits him from being within 100 yards of the woman.
According to a police report, the woman said she was invited by a friend to Norfolk Superior Court on Feb. 26 to attend a hearing in Read’s case. Kearney was also in the courtroom covering the case.
The woman said she had a restraining order against Kearney and he left the courtroom at the request of court officers, according to the report. When the woman left, Kearney was outside in front of the registry of deeds across the street and was allegedly “yelling and calling me a liar,” the woman told police, according to the report.
Kearney denies that he said anything to the woman. In a court filing last month, Bradl wrote that there are “several videos” and “several affidavits” from bystanders who were in the area “swearing that Mr. Kearney did not shout anything at all.” He said the woman “engineered the entire encounter” and lied to police.
Kearney was arrested in October on charges of intimidating and harassing witnesses in the Read case. He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail, but his bail was revoked after the alleged domestic incident. Kearney spent two months in jail and was released in February on recognizance.
On Friday, Kearney claimed victory in a Facebook video after the ruling, saying it meant “I can go to every single Karen Read trial date.”
“We win. That’s all I wanted to do, was go to the Karen Read trial, because that’s what I do,” he said.