Update on Terrebonne Sheriff arresting whistleblower and shutting down blog

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The Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal on Thursday declared unconstitutional a search warrant that led to the Aug. 2 raid of a Houma Police officer's home as part of an investigation into an anti-corruption website.

The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office searched Wayne Anderson's home on St. Francis Street while looking into a defamation complaint by the parish's insurance agent, Tony Alford, over the blog ExposeDAT. State District Judge Randy Bethancourt signed the search warrant and upheld his authorization in an Aug. 5 hearing.

ExposeDAT began publishing articles about local public figures – including Sheriff Jerry Larpenter, Parish President Gordy Dove and District Attorney Joe Waitz Jr. – and their business dealings in late June. The website can be viewed at https://exposedat.in/wp/.

Someone using the pseudonym John Turner created the blog. Anderson, a former Terrebonne sheriff's deputy, denies involvement.

Houma attorney Jerri Smitko and Thibodaux attorneys David Ardoin and Matthew Ory are representing Anderson and his wife, Jennifer. They believe the website falls under the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

"The 1st Circuit basically said what we've been saying, that the criminal statute they used is unconstitutional whenever it deals with public figures or matters of public concern," Smitko said. "There's no crime. It's unconstitutional, so the affidavit's no good. They reversed the trial court's decision and granted our motion to quash the search warrant."

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Wayne Anderson, whose property was searched and seized, should sue the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office for violating his civil rights.

Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Jerry Larpenter still needs to resign since he’s willing to violate the liberties of his citizens and clearly cannot tolerate criticism.

The judge should be investigated by the state bar too.