Tag: arkansas

Whistleblower says governor’s office illegally altered, withheld records related to podium purchase

An anonymous former state employee came forward Friday claiming to have evidence that the Arkansas governor’s office doctored documents and unlawfully withheld financial records that should have been made public under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA.

Attorney Tom Mars, who is representing the whistleblower, sent a letter today to Sen. Jimmy Hickey (R-Texarkana) offering to have his client speak to auditors. Hickey yesterday requested that Legislative Audit, a nonpartisan agency independent from the executive branch, look into what’s come to be known as “podiumgate.”

The controversy concerns the $19,000 purchase of a lectern (or podium) by the governor’s office from an out-of-state events company earlier this year, as well as Gov. Sarah Sanders’ successful efforts to newly block access to certain governmental records.

Sanders recently pushed the state legislature to write a new exemption into the Arkansas FOIA in an attempt to prevent Matt Campbell, the Little Rock lawyer behind the Blue Hog Report blog, from accessing those records. Campbell’s FOIA requests uncovered the lectern purchase to begin with.

In the letter, Mars said his client can prove that someone in Sanders’ office altered documents that Campbell had requested through the Arkansas FOIA and that Sanders’ office pressured another government agency to withhold from the public documents that should have been made available.

His client is willing to give a statement to legislative auditors under oath, Mars said, and can provide documents for them to review.

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Arkansas deputy shoots at Pomeranian but hits woman standing on porch instead

A lawsuit has been filed against a Columbia County deputy, the sheriff, and the sheriff’s office after the deputy shoots at a dog, but strikes a woman standing on her front porch instead.

Tina Hight, the woman who was shot in August 2022, still has the bullet lodged in her shin. She’s now not only dealing with anxiety but also continuous doctor’s appointments.

She initially called 911 for help, but instead was shot on her own front porch she told Seven On Your Side.

In the video, Columbia County Deputy Brian Williams is heard shouting at the dog: “Get back, get your dog, I’ll kill this ************. Get your God**** dog.”

Williams then fires a warning shot, but that quickly escalates.

“You better get back. I’ll kill this” and then he shoots at the dog.

You just shot me,” Hight screams.

“I shot who?” the deputy asked.

Williams appeared to aim at a Pomeranian, but instead hit Hight who is standing right next to another deputy.

You shot my aunt,” said another woman.

“I didn’t shoot her,” Williams responds.

Yes, you did,” Hight responds. “You shot me.”

Later in the video, Williams claims one of Hight’s dogs scratched her – instead of her being shot.

“Very scary, I have never been shot before… I didn’t know… I knew I was hit, I didn’t know how bad, I didn’t understand,” Hight told 7OYS.

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Innocent Man Beaten to Death in Jail After Being Sentenced to a Decade for Having Kratom

Last week, the Free Thought Project delved into the deeply unsettling story of Shaina Brown, an Alabama resident facing a potential life sentence over the mere possession of kratom. In our coverage, we touched upon the tragic case of Marshall Price, another victim of the merciless war on drugs. This week, we continue our exposé by shifting our focus to Price’s case, highlighting the gruesome realities of this ongoing war on a widely beneficial plant.

Before moving into the details of Marshall’s story, it is important to point out the massive disinformation campaign waged by the media and the government over this plant. A recent story out of Florida is gaining traction and serves as a perfect example of this propaganda after a judge awarded the family of Krystal Talavera $11 million in a lawsuit. Talavera, who had life-threatening pre-existing conditions, died after ingesting a substance in a baggy that had “Space Dust” written on it with a sharpy. This is “kratom,” according to the media, which is unwilling to do even 30 seconds of research to find out the truth.

The court ruled that Talavera died from kratom, and the media ran with it. But this was simply not the case. Talavera ingested a highly potent and concentrated alkaloid extract of the kratom plant, not kratom leaves. This is the equivalent of extracting lethal doses of caffeine from the coffee bean and calling it “coffee.”

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Arkansas Law Protecting Medical Marijuana Patients’ Gun Rights Officially Takes Effect

A new law officially takes effect in Arkansas on Tuesday to clarify that medical marijuana patients can obtain concealed carry licenses for firearms.

The governor signed the bill in April, just days after it sailed through the legislature with strong majority support.

The newly effective law stipulates that a person’s status as a qualified medical cannabis patient in the state cannot be used “in determining whether an applicant is eligible to be issued a license to carry a concealed handgun.”

State statute has also been amended to clarify that participation in the medical marijuana program doesn’t mean that a person is a chronic or habitual user of a controlled substance, which could otherwise disqualify people from obtaining the concealed carry permit.

The state Department of Health (DOH) will be barred from disclosing a person’s patient status to the state police as part of any investigation into concealed carry eligibility.

While some states have moved to more broadly preserve firearm rights for cannabis patients and consumers, the new law signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) is more narrowly tailored to the concealed carry issue.

Arkansas does not require people to have a permit for concealed carry, but some Arkansas firearms owners prefer to have one because of the protections it can bestow when traveling in other states and because of the clarity it provides during police encounters.

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What to Know About the Case of the Missing Missouri ER Doctor Found Dead in Arkansas

A doctor in the Missouri Ozarks went missing for over a week until his body was found in an Arkansas lake. But the case remains shrouded in mystery as investigators have released few details to his family or the public.

What’s Known So Far

Dr. John Forsyth, 49, was last seen alive on May 21, when security cameras in the parking lot of a public pool in Cassville show him getting into a vehicle, after leaving his own car unlocked with his wallet, two phones, a laptop, and other items inside. That’s according to his brother, Richard Forsyth, who said the doctor had texted his new fiancee that morning saying he would see her soon.

His car was found later that day. Investigators haven’t said who was driving the other vehicle.

A search began after the emergency room physician didn’t show up for his May 21 shift at Mercy Hospital in Cassville. There was no sign of Forsyth until a kayaker noticed his body in Arkansas on May 30, at a spot on Beaver Lake some 20 miles (32 kilometers) away from his last known location.

His body had an apparent gunshot wound, authorities in Arkansas say. Although Benton County Coroner Daniel Oxford said an autopsy was completed Thursday, the results won’t be released until the investigation is over.

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Police Bust Into Arkansas Man’s Home for Piercing His Son’s Ear

A video that’s making its way around the web shows police busting into an Arkansas man’s home for piercing his son’s ear.

The video shows five police officers storming a Tontitown, Arkansas man’s home for “illegally” piercing his own son’s ear.

The man arrested in the video was Jeremy Sherland and in the video, Sherland is in disbelief that the police were arresting him for practicing “Body art without a license.”

Sherland’s son could also be heard in the video saying, “I wanted my ears pierced.”

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Police change story on former Clinton aide ‘suicide’ – media

A shotgun was found near the body of former Bill Clinton aide Mark Middleton, who was discovered hanging from a tree at the Heifer Ranch last May with his chest blasted out, a report seen by the Daily Mail on Thursday claims. This contradicts an earlier report seen by the paper which said no firearm was found at the scene.

According to the Mail, Perry County Sergeant Keenan Carter, said a Stoeger 12-gauge coach shotgun, was discovered 30 feet from Middleton’s body. They also say that the former Clinton aide had texted his wife Rhea shortly before pulling the trigger to say he had found “the perfect place for a nap in the sun” and reassure her she was “a great Mom and wife.”

According to Sergeant Carter’s report, Middleton “pulled the trigger on the firearm causing [sic] it to discharge and strike him in the chest and then he fell from the bench causing the extension cord to become tight cutting off his breathing.” 

The gun was found so far from the body “due to recoil from the discharge and the height and angle of the ground,” Carter explained, insisting there was no “evidence to indicate that there was anyone present with Mr. Middleton at this scene or any evidence that there was any type of struggle and/or foul play.”

In the original report, Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy Lawson writes that he and an employee of the property owner discovered Middleton’s dead body hanging from a tree by an electrical cord. Searching Middleton’s vehicle turned up boxes of ammo and a gun case, but no gun. The initial report did not mention any gun found at the scene.

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Arkansas cops rule suicide in death of Clinton aide linked to Jeffrey Epstein – who was found shot and tied to a tree with an electrical cord around his neck – despite no sign of weapon

The grisly scene where a top Bill Clinton adviser was found hanged from a tree with a gunshot wound to his chest has finally been revealed nine months after he died. 

But the sheriff’s report into Mark Middleton’s mysterious death raises more questions than answers as it rules he died by suicide – despite no sign of the weapon that killed him.

Middleton, 59, was found dead last May at the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas, an hour west of Little Rock.  

Release of the report was held up after members of his family petitioned a judge. They were worried that pictures from the gory scene would be made public.

The judge eventually ruled that details could be released but photographs could not. 

The report, written by Perry County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy Lawson, says he was called to the ranch by worker Samantha McElroy who had found Middleton’s abandoned black BMW SUV.

McElroy, 46, then walked around a cottage on the ranch.

‘Almost immediately after stepping around the corner of the cottage she started yelling,’ wrote Lawson.

‘Upon reaching the back of the cottage she pointed towards the rear of the property and asked if that was a person.

‘I could see what at first appeared to be a man sitting near a tree, as my eyes focused better, I could see a rope of some type going from the tree limb to the male.”

Lawson said it was clear that Middleton was dead.

‘I could see that he had a gunshot wound to the chest and that he had a knot tied in an extension cord that was around his neck and it was attached to the limb directly above him.

The deputy said a search of Middleton’s vehicle turned up three boxes of buckshot and a gun case – but no weapon. 

The details give fresh insight into the death of Middleton, a married father of two daughters aged 18 and 20 who was found dead on May 7 last year.

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Arkansas Elementary School Teacher Assistant Pleads Guilty To Producing Child Pornography

A now-former teacher assistant at an elementary school in Arkansas pleaded guilty to child pornography charges earlier this week.

On Tuesday, Augustus Shenker, a 22-year-old, pleaded guilty to three counts alleging he produced child pornography inside an Arkansas classroom.

Shenker was indicted over child pornography charges in June 2021 after the FBI received a tip in May that alleged Shenker had a Dropbox account with an email that possessed seven different explicit child pornography videos.

FBI investigators looked into Shenker and realized he was employed at an early education school in Little Rock.

Shenker’s place of employment, Miss Selma’s School, educates students as young as 18 months old through fifth grade.

After FBI agents got a warrant on Shenker, they seized his iPhone and discovered six videos Shenker made in March 2021 where he groped a preschooler in a classroom.

A hidden folder on Shenker’s phone contained 19 more videos of explicit child pornography filmed in the classroom at Miss Selma’s School.

United States Attorney Jonathan Ross called Shenker’s actions “unthinkable abuse.”

“This defendant violated the trust parents placed in him each day by placing their children in his care. Using his position to exploit preschoolers is an unthinkable abuse, especially in their own school—the very place we expect children to be protected,” Ross said.

“We appreciate the hard work of the FBI in identifying and arresting this defendant and hope this conviction deters others who would harm children,” he added.

Shenker first told investigators he formerly had a problem with child pornography years ago. Investigators also discovered thousands of images of child pornography across Shenker’s devices.

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Arkansas Library Says Book Teaching Masturbation To Ages 7-12 Will Stay On Children’s Shelves

A book marketed to children ages 7 to 12 that teaches kids to masturbate and affirms gender dysphoria was recently backed by a committee of public librarians in Arkansas after a local parent challenged its place on the shelves.

“Sex Is a Funny Word,” by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth, includes images of a child touching herself in the bathtub and affirmation of gender dysphoria, all aimed at prepubescent kids. A children’s library reviewer described the book in 2016 as a “trans-inclusive sex education book.”

The book, which won top awards from gay activist organizations, “follows a cast of four 8-10 year old kids, including gender queer Zai, as they learn about and explore that strange and funny word — sex.” “Having a penis isn’t what makes you a boy. Having a vulva isn’t what makes you a girl. The truth is much more interesting than that!” the book tells kids.

After a patron’s complaint about the book last month, the Rogers Public Library assembled a committee of six of its librarians, says a letter to the patron dated Aug. 29 from Rogers Library Director Hannah Norris Milligan, obtained this week by The Federalist. The majority of this librarian committee decided to keep this book in the children’s section of the library, where children of any age can find it on the shelves.

The obtained public documents show that Norris Milligan participated on the library’s six-member review committee for the book, recommending that it stay on the library’s shelves “[f]or families that wish to discuss these sensitive topics with their children using a diverse and inclusive resource.”

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