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Witnesses Sue Karen Read and ‘Turtleboy’ for Defamation in O’Keefe Case

The case tests how far online advocacy can go before it becomes defamation.

Overview

  • Four witnesses filed a defamation suit in Barnstable Superior Court on Thursday, naming Karen Read and blogger Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney as defendants.
  • The complaint by Jennifer McCabe, Brian Albert, Colin Albert, and Brian Higgins says Read and Kearney coordinated to falsely link them to Officer John O’Keefe’s 2022 death.
  • Plaintiffs detail years of threats, verbal confrontations, and online abuse, and say the campaign upended their families and daily lives.
  • Their lawyers from Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder and Hinckley Allen & Snyder bring claims of defamation, civil conspiracy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
  • Kearney faces separate witness-intimidation charges and pleads not guilty, while Read’s criminal case ended with an acquittal on murder and ongoing civil suits over O’Keefe’s death.