Turtleboy Blogger Aidan Kearney Charged With Witness Intimidation: DA

STOUGHTON, MA — Aidan Kearney, the operator of the controversial Turtleboy Daily News website, was arrested Wednesday on charges that he intimidated witnesses involved in the prosecution of a Mansfield woman accused of killing her police officer boyfriend.

Kearney, 41, a Holden resident, appeared in Stoughton District Court Wednesday afternoon after he was arrested and charged with one count of conspiracy and eight counts of intimidation of a witness juror, police officer or court official, according to prosecutors. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Kearney has most recently been involved in the case of Karen Read, the Mansfield woman who has been charged in connection to the 2022 death of boyfriend John O'Keefe. Kearney has used the TB Daily News website to proclaim a cover-up involving Read, saying she wasn't the one who hit O'Keefe during a 2022 blizzard, but that he was beaten to death.

Prosecutors said during a hearing Wednesday Kearney used his website to post personal attacks on a state trooper, civilian witnesses and their family and friends surrounding the Read case. Kearney detailed his campaign in dozens of blog posts on TB Daily News, discussing how he knew the locations of witnesses and where they lived.

In one case, Kearney held a rolling rally with a group of drivers that visited the home of a Canton woman and demanded she tell the truth about what happened to O'Keefe, according to Norfolk County prosecutor Kenneth Mello.

Kearney's attorney said his client has no criminal record and asked for Kearney to be released — and still be allowed to continue his coverage of the Read case.

"He feels as if he should be allowed to use his First Amendment right to pursue this story," Kearney's attorney said.

A Stoughton District Court judge declined to grant Mello's request for $1,000 bail and GPS monitoring, but did order Kearney not to have contact with anyone involved in the Read case. He'll appear in court against on Dec. 5.

The criminal case against Kearney is the latest twist in a local media career that is among the most notorious in state history. As operator of the Turtleboy media properties, Kearney has been accused of harassment, fomenting racism and has faced multiple lawsuits.

Former Worcester councilor Michael Gaffney sued Kearney for libel and lost in 2019, and last year Boston City Councilor Julia Mejia sued him for calling her a drug user. Turtleboy also published videos of sting operations that enticed men into meeting with underage people. One video led to the arrest of former Stow police chief Ralph Marino.