Skip to content

Reporter fights subpoenas to reveal sources in drug case

Post categories

  1. Newsgathering
An Ohio newspaper is fighting two subpoenas requiring one of its reporters to testify in the trials of seven defendants…

An Ohio newspaper is fighting two subpoenas requiring one of its reporters to testify in the trials of seven defendants accused of drug trafficking.

The Mount Vernon News filed two motions on Friday in support of its reporter, Anton Hepler. The first asks the court to require the prosecutor to show why Helper needs to testify and the other responds to the prosecutor’s threat to get a court order to ban Helper from watching the trial.

The subpoenas are in response to an article Hepler wrote on Jan. 4 about the Mount Vernon police using informants to make drug busts. The first trial begins today.

Stay informed by signing up for our mailing list

Keep up with our work by signing up to receive our monthly newsletter. We'll send you updates about the cases we're doing with journalists, news organizations, and documentary filmmakers working to keep you informed.