Judge grants state AG request to dismiss charges in Atmore newspaper case [Video]

BREWTON, Ala. (WALA) – A judge on Friday granted a request by the Alabama Attorney General’s Office to dismiss charges accusing an Escambia County newspaper publisher and reporter of interfering with a grand jury investigation.

The case drew widespread attention and condemnation from First Amendment activists, who considered it an attack on press freedom.

The charges stemmed from a report in the Atmore News about a criminal investigation involving allegations that the Escambia County Board of Education misspent federal COVID-19 relief funds.

Last October, Escambia District Attorney Stephen Billy charged publisher Sherry Ann Digmon, reporter Don Fletcher and a school system bookkeeper named Veronica “Ashley” Fore.

Prosecutors accused the defendants of revealing grand jury secrets. The state attorney general’s office took over after Billy bowed out of the cases in February.

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