Alabama Newspaper Publisher and Reporter Arrested for Disclosure of Confidential Grand Jury Information, Face Additional Charges of Violating State Ethics Law

Publisher and reporter from Atmore News detained after leak of grand jury proceedings on local school board investigation; publisher faces additional arrest for alleged misuse of school board position for personal gain.

• Atmore News Publisher Sherry Digmon and reporter Don Fletcher have been arrested for publishing confidential grand-jury information regarding an investigation into the local school district's payouts to former employees.
• The arrests were performed by the Escambia County district attorney, and the two could face up to five years in jail if convicted. Their arrests have triggered significant pushback from press freedom advocates who claim that this represents an unconstitutional assault on the media.
• While leaking grand jury procedures is illegal for court officials, it's generally not a crime for a media outlet to publish such information, provided it was obtained legally, leading to a legal controversy with potential implications for press freedoms.
• Digmon, in addition to her role as Atmore News Publisher, is a member of the county school board and also faces an additional arrest over alleged misuse of her school board position for personal advantage, specifically for selling $2,500 worth of advertisements to the school system.
• The Committee to Protect Journalists, among other groups, has called for the charges against Digmon and Fletcher to be dropped, asserting that their arrests pose a threat to the free press and are a misuse of taxpayer dollars.

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