RCFP, CPJ urge Alabama DA to reconsider charges against local publisher, journalist

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Committee to Protect Journalists are asking a district attorney in Alabama to reconsider charges against the publisher of a local newspaper and one of its reporters for allegedly violating the state’s grand jury secrecy law.

In a letter sent to Escambia County District Attorney Stephen Billy on Feb. 14, 2024, the Reporters Committee and CPJ expressed significant concern with last year’s arrests and indictments of Atmore News publisher Sherry Digmon and reporter Don Fletcher. The two were charged with disclosing grand jury evidence in an article published last October about the district attorney’s criminal investigation into the local school board’s handling of federal COVID-19 relief money.

The letter stresses that, even in instances where journalists are accused of committing a crime, subjecting them to arrest “is extremely rare and disruptive to newsgathering.” It also raises concerns about the bond conditions for Digmon and Fletcher, including an overbroad “gag” provision that prevents them from engaging in “communications about ongoing criminal investigations including schools and other(s) until they are public record,” noting that the conditions are functionally a prior restraint on news reporting.

“Regardless of the underlying issues, both actions were excessive and threaten to chill public interest newsgathering and reporting more broadly,” the letter states. “We urge you to reconsider the charges against Digmon and Fletcher and to agree to modify the terms of their bail to ensure they can continue to engage in newsgathering and reporting, in accordance with the First Amendment.”