Steubenville Rape Case: Wednesday Updates

I have been watching the controversy and outrage over the sexual assualts and alleged coverup in Steubenville, Ohio,  for weeks, partly because my wife's family lives nearby and I have visited that city many times.   Here were my Tuesday updates,  with Wednesday's below.

8:45  NPR did big segment on the case today, listen to it here and read transcript.  However, reporters says prosecutor Jane Hanlin recused herself "quickly" from case--actually took two weeks and early on at crucial period. 

7:00 p.m.  FBI investigating alleged death threat against Sheriff Fred Abdalla and family--and local police chief says he opened an email today that disabled his computer, as tensions rise. 

4:00   Twitter has suspended @KYanonymous (see below) but now he's back @KYanonymous1.  States:  "as of right now @twitter and @support have not emailed me a reason for suspension, forward this to every media outlet you have seen so far."

3:30 p.m.  If you've followed this case at all, you probably know that a certain @KYanonymous has played a key role lately, allegedly involved in posting evidence via LocalLeaks, doing numerous TV and radio interviews, and keeping up a steady and popular Twitter stream. Just now Twitter suspended his account.   More in a few minutes. Could be linked, rightly or wrongly, to yesterday's lockdown of Steubenville schools after a student claimed he/she saw a death threat on Facebook or Twitter from some sort of Anonymous person.  No one could find that threat.  I may have missed something, but my regular scanning of the @KYanonymous feed never did turn up threats--at least in recent days he roundly attacked such threats.

2:00  New video on the case, from the LocalLeaks and Op RollRedRoll perspective, mainly on "coverup," local news media, plus facts, rumors, innuendo, questions.  Haunting music.  On the other hand, here's an anti-LocalLeaks blog post re: those alleged photos in the Parks emails.



9:30 a.m.  Confirming a rumor, judge presiding over case revealed that indeed he did allow one of the defendants, Ma'Lik Richmond, to leave the state--against the rules of his home confinement ordered months ago--for nearly a week recently to go to California with his guardians.  They said it was to get him out of the area for protection, even though this was before the recent upsurge in attention that started on January 1.  In fact, according to reports (not yet confirmed), he went out there to attend the Rose Bowl. 

Late Tuesday

8:20 p.m.  USA Today with new piece on judge, in Cincinnati area, who will preside over the trial starting Feb. 13, if not postponed.  As we know, he got appointed after locals begged out.  Trial could be moved to Cincy but not necessarily.  Did not know he had already turned down one request to close it to the public when it does happen.  Story notes his long career in juvenile justice but unclear what other markers to look for. 

7:00 p.m.  Fraternal Order of Police in Steubenville dropped its phone solicitation company after a woman reported call for donation in which man on the line referred to rape case and IDed school that victim attends and other info... AP reports that schools chief in Steubenville has ordered armed guards to four buildings to make students feel safer.  This came before today's lockdown after a bogus threat was posted on Facebook--or so a student said.