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Attack on the Press: Journalist Trapped, Railroaded, and Imprisoned in Mississippi

Published

2 weeks ago

February 22, 2025

By Matthew Reardon – Investigative Journalist

It Started as a Routine Audit and a need to make a public records request. It Ended in Prison.

On June 20, 2022 I walked into Oxford, MS City Hall with a camera in hand and a simple mission—document government officials in a public building and request records from the City Clerk. It was a standard First Amendment audit, something I had been doing all month to expose corruption and promote transparency.

I never expected that within months, I would be sitting in a Mississippi prison, stripped of my freedom, betrayed by the justice system, and silenced by the very government I sought to hold accountable.

I was about to step into a nightmare—one that would prove just how far officials would go to destroy a journalist who dared to challenge their power.

The Trap is Set: An Old Restraining Order Resurfaces

As I filmed inside City Hall, Oxford Police Lieutenant Kevin Parker confronted me.

“You’re detained. You have to leave,” he ordered.

His reasoning? Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill had a restraining order against me from 2017. A restraining order taken out just two weeks prior to Election Day in 2017 for claims that can now be 100% debunked and shown to be completely false. But that’s not a story for this article.

There was just one problem—I had never seen, spoken to, or contacted Mayor Tannehill that day. In fact, I wasn’t even aware the order still existed, let alone that it could be used to ban a citizen journalist from City Hall. Particularly when one of the big reasons I was here was to make a public records request with the city clerk.

Then came Captain Lyons. He doubled down:

“If you come back, you’ll be arrested for trespassing and violating the restraining order.”

I had two choices: leave quietly or get locked up. So, I left. But I wasn’t done.

Oxford Police Chief Jeff McCutchen referred the matter—one that most legal experts argue should have been dismissed—to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations (MBI) on June 23, 2022.

The result was a felony charge of aggravated stalking against me, citing not only my First Amendment audit at Oxford City Hall but also five to six critical tweets about Mayor Robyn Tannehill’s policies during her re-election campaign a year prior. That’s right—they weaponized my tweets and a 5-10 minute video inside City Hall to put me in a jail cell.

Eight days later, on June 28, 2022, Reardon walked into Lafayette County Chancery Court for a child custody hearing. Before he could enter, Reardon was met by Major Alan Wilburn of the sheriff’s department.“You can’t bring recording devices in,” he said. Then, without missing a beat, he pulled out an arrest warrant. The Charge: Aggravated Stalking.The charge stemmed from Reardon’s City Hall visit eight days earlier. But that wasn’t all. A stalking charge requires there be a “course of conduct”. This is a crucial element of the crime stalking and without this, there no crime of stalking.

A “course of conduct” is legally defined in the context of stalking under Mississippi Code § 97-3-107 (and this is what I was charged with). It refers to a pattern of behavior consisting of two or more actions over a period of time, however brief, that demonstrate a continuity of purpose. This pattern must be such that it would cause a reasonable person to fear for their own safety, the safety of another, or fear damage or destruction of their property.

When MBI Lieutenant Joey Mauney wrote in his Criminal Affidavit each of the 6 twitter tweets more than a year prior as “heinous” and manifesting fear throughout Lafayette County, he was ultimately claiming that this handful of tweets I posted criticizing Tannehill’s policies and leadership constituted the “course of conduct” needed to charge me with not only stalking but aggravated stalking when there was never any contact nor did I ever want to have any contact with mayor Robyn Tannehill.

Following the MBI’s recommendation, Judge Kent Smith initially set my bond at $10,000, but this was swiftly challenged by Assistant District Attorney Tiffany Kilpatrick, who moved for its revocation. During what some observers described as a “kangaroo court” proceeding, Judge Smith ruled that I be held without bond and ordered a mental health evaluation and competency hearing.

This was a particularly difficult time as I had a 4-month-old son in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at LeBonheur Hospital in Memphis, TN, and had three other children at home.

At the hearing, Judge Smith played his part in this kangaroo court.“You’re being held without bond pending a mental health exam,” he ruled. Suddenly, I wasn’t just a journalist facing a bogus felony—I was being labeled mentally unstable to justify keeping me behind bars.

Adding to the irregularities of the case, Reardon’s originally assigned public defender, Mitchell Driskill, was suddenly replaced by Mark McClinton of New Albany, with no formal court filing or documented authorization for the swap. Reardon soon discovered that McClinton was unresponsive and did not appear to have his best interests in mind. The court-ordered mental health exam was delayed for nearly two months, not taking place until September.

There was no official court filing authorizing the change. And soon, I discovered why.McClinton wasn’t on my side.

Dr. Christopher Lott ultimately conducted the evaluation and determined that Reardon did not suffer from bipolar disorder or any other significant mental health condition. Despite this finding, the legal proceedings continued under questionable circumstances.

On September 29, 2022, the day before his scheduled competency hearing, I spoke with my attorney, Mark McClinton, who informed me that the case had “fallen apart” for the state. According to McClinton, prosecutors had no solid evidence against me, as the charge of aggravated stalking did not meet the legal criteria. McClinton assured me that the charge would be dismissed the next day.

However, on September 30, 2022, rather than seeing the case thrown out as promised, McClinton unexpectedly presented me with a guilty plea deal. McClinton warned me that if I refused to accept the plea, the jury would likely be “tainted and fixed,” and the prosecution would exploit technicalities to secure a conviction—even if the trial was moved to a different county.

The plea agreement stipulated five years of probation, banishment from Lafayette County for five years, and an assurance from McClinton that the charge would be expunged when eligible. Facing a family crisis and under immense pressure, I felt I had no choice but to accept the plea deal in order to secure my release.

Immediately after entering the guilty plea, I told McClinton that I had made a mistake and wanted to withdraw it to proceed to trial. McClinton refused to entertain the request or provide assistance. With no legal support from my assigned attorney, I took matters into my own hands.

On October 31, 2022, I filed a formal motion to withdraw my guilty plea, requesting either a trial or dismissal of what I asserted and still assert was an unconstitutional charge.

I took the deal. I walked out of jail. But the moment I did, I knew I had made a mistake. I immediately stated I wanted to withdraw that bogus plea. I had to, there was no other way. When McClinton wouldn’t answer my calls, I filed my own motion October 31, 2022 so as to be prompt and at 30 days.

Retaliation: The FBI Call That Sent Me to Prison

Three days before I filed to withdraw my plea, I witnessed a case of police corruption in a neighboring city and called the Oxford FBI field office. I also told the agent that my rights had been heavily violated by Lafayette County and needed to speak with the FBI about them as well.

I was told they didn’t do appointments but twe had discussed me bringing the evidence in 1-2 hours later due to the fact that I needed to call and report my presence to the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department to be in compliance with the banishment. In following the rules, I called the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office to report my planned visit—to comply with my probation terms. I spoke with Kandace Beavers and conveyed everything correctly. This is evidenced by call recordings with both the FBI and Beavers.

But the very next day—November 1, 2022—Assistant DA Tiffany Kilpatrick filed a motion to revoke my sentence. That night, Sheriff’s Deputy Hoby James arrested me. What I would quickly find out was that Kandace Beavers intentional lies led to this, and that Hoby James was a snake in disguise.

The Final Blow: A Show Trial Without Evidence

At the revocation hearing on November 3rd, I was blindsided.

I wasn’t told what I was being revoked for until I was in the courtroom.
I had no lawyer. I wasn’t allowed to present evidence proving my innocence. Sheriff’s Deputy Kandis Beavers falsely testified that I had driven to the FBI office without an appointment. I tried to speak—
“I have recorded calls proving the FBI told me to come in!”
Judge Tollison didn’t care. He refused to hear my evidence. After a short deliberation, he sentenced me to one year in prison. For what? For obeying the law. Let’s call this what it is:
A coordinated effort to remove a government critic.
A rigged legal system that manufactures charges.
A court that suppresses evidence and denies basic rights.
I was framed, coerced, and silenced. And if they can do it to me, they can do it to anyone. The question now isn’t just how this happened.