PLYMOUTH, Mass. (Court TV) — Attorneys representing Karen Read and controversial blogger “Turtleboy” appeared in court on Tuesday to fight to have a defamation lawsuit tied to Read’s murder case dismissed.
Karen Read sits in court with her parents during a hearing on July 13, 2026. (Court TV)
Read and the blogger, whose legal name is Aiden Kearney, are accused of defamation by a group of witnesses who testified in Read’s criminal trials. Read, 45, stood trial twice on charges she murdered her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe; after her first trial ended with a deadlocked jury, a second jury convicted her of operating a vehicle under the influence and cleared her of all other charges.
O’Keefe’s body was found in the snow outside a home belonging to fellow police officer Brian Albert; O’Keefe had planned to attend a party at the house on the night of his death. Read claimed through both her trials that Albert, his nephew, Colin Albert, his sister-in-law Jennifer McCabe, and friend Brian Higgins had actually been O’Keefe’s killers and that the group had conspired to frame her for his death.
Read’s attorneys have asked for the defamation suit against her to be dismissed, claiming that all the statements she made blaming the group for her boyfriend’s death were made as part of judicial proceedings and were thus protected speech. “From day one, my client has taken the position that she was not responsible for the death of John O’Keefe, and that somebody else or others were,” Read’s attorney, Damon Seligson, said Tuesday. “That’s in connection with the judicial proceeding. That’s protected petitioning activity.”
James Tuxbury, who represents the plaintiffs, denied that all of Read’s statements could be protected, specifically those made to a documentary filmmaker during her first trial as well as interviews conducted after the verdict. “What they’re saying is that even post-verdict, because she in the past had been subject to a criminal prosecution, she is free to defame people, no matter the audience, just because she’s commenting on somebody else’s guilt, not her own.” Seligson responded that her continued comments to the media still have a nexus in judicial proceedings: the civil lawsuits she currently faces in both state and federal court.
Kearney, known as the leader of the “Free Karen Read” movement during her trials, was a vocal supporter of the defendant and is accused of conspiring with her to defame witnesses in the criminal trial. Kearney’s attorneys have argued that his comments are protected under the same statute that protects Read, because he was petitioning the government and encouraging others to act to get the charges against Read dropped.
Tuxbury fired back that comments aimed at the district attorney’s office or police departments were not the issue. “The conduct we claim was illegal was a prolonged, persistent defamation and harassment campaign directed at the plaintiffs, and there’s no question that he sought to enlist his audience in that same illegal conduct.” Among the incidents of harassment cited, Tuxbury accused Kearney of yelling “Cop Killer” at McCabe during a high school lacrosse game.
“He’s not petitioning the government to get these witnesses to flip,” Tuxbury said. “He’s petitioning the witnesses themselves, and he’s encouraging others to intimidate them in order to create that outcome for Ms. Read.”
Kearney’s attorney, Jeffrey Pyle, countered that all of Kearney’s comments were part of a larger campaign to fight corruption and to bring attention to Read’s case as part of lawful protests. “Posting on social media is the way today in which people connect with each other,” Pyle said. “Aiden Kearney has done that to great success in getting people involved in these issues.”
Judge Mark Gildea said he would take the issue under advisement and issue a written ruling later.
