Here is what really transpired at Lafayette County Justice Court and it wasn’t at all like Lt Omar Ahmed made it sound like, earning Lafayette County Sheriffs Department a grade of F on this Audit.
What turned into a First Amendment Audit at Lafayette County Justice Court on Wednesday June 8th, 2022 doubled down as another big overreaction by Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department. As shown in the video, Matt Reardon walks through the doors of Justice Court with his cellphone mounted to his DJI Gimbal simply to (try) to find the answers to a couple of questions for a news story he was covering. Immediately Reardon is met by Court Security Officer Chad Mood who rudely and abruptly stops him to tell him (Reardon) he couldn’t come in with his iphone out and on its Gimbal because recording was not allowed in the building. However, not one sign existed anywhere in sight stating the such (meanwhile the building has its own cameras in the ceiling recording). Mood then goes on to stating that the Justice Court/Municipal Court building was “Private Property”, a clear confusion by Mood of where he was at being that the building he referred to as “private” was actually paid for in full by the Tax Payers of Lafayette County, Mississippi. In asking Court Security Officer Mood as to if he was giving a lawful order to leave with the camera phone, Mood gets visibly upset, stands up, and starts advancing (presumably) towards Reardon before walking back to the Clerk’s Office. When Reardon attempts to identify Mood by name and badge number, Mood becomes audibly upset and refuses to identify, prompting Reardon to call the Sheriffs Department for assistance in identifying Mood. Then enters Lt Omar Ahmed whom appears to be completely predisposed that Reardon must be the problem, and this shows clear in their interaction. Watch the video for yourself and feel free to leave your comments on this new video quickly building on plays since published yesterday evening
