Mississippi Madness! Conservative Blogger arrested for...

[Statistikhengst]

...well, this screenshot from CBS pretty much sums it all up:

The article:

Blogger accused of exploiting Sen. Thad Cochran's ailing wife - CBS News

A judge in Mississippi has kept bond at $100,000 for a conservative blogger who is accused of sneaking into a nursing home and photographing the bedridden wife of Republican U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran without permission.

Madison Assistant Police Chief Robert Sanders said the judge scheduled a preliminary hearing Thursday for 28-year-old Clayton Kelly.

Kelly, who has a blog called Constitutional Clayton, was arrested Friday on a charge of exploiting a vulnerable adult. He is accused of sneaking into St. Catherine's Village in Madison, taking a photo of Cochran's wife and using it in an online video.

The blogger has been a vocal critic of Cochran and is a supporter of State Sen. Chris McDaniel, who is challenging Cochran in a GOP primary. McDaniel says he does not have any ties to Kelly.

Rose Cochran, 72, has lived at the nursing home since 2000, The Clarion-Ledger newspaper said. She suffers from progressive dementia and is now bedridden.

Blogger's arrest shakes up Mississippi Republican primary - CNN.com

(there is also video at this link)

The arrest of a man who allegedly obtained an image of a senator's bedridden wife has shaken up an already intense Republican primary battle in Mississippi.

Political blogger Clayton Kelly was arrested Thursday, accused of exploiting a vulnerable adult and illegally and improperly obtaining a photo of her without her consent for his own benefit, according to the Madison Police Department.

Donald Clark, an attorney for Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Mississippi, and his wife, Rose, told The Clarion-Ledger newspaper that the woman in question is Rose, saying the Cochrans' "privacy and dignity have been violated." Rose Cochran suffers from dementia and has lived at St. Catherine's Village, the nursing home where Thursday's incident took place, for 14 years, according to the newspaper...

...The photo surfaced in a political attack ad on YouTube that aimed to smear Cochran, according to The Clarion-Ledger. It is unclear how the photo was used because the ad was removed within hours of being posted, according to the newspaper.

Kelly, a 28-year-old Madison, Mississippi, resident, has a host of social platforms that cover politics and often attacks the senior senator.

The video, like the majority of Kelly's material, supported Cochran's opponent in the Republican primary -- and that's where things get politically complicated.

Chris McDaniel is a lawyer, radio commentator and Mississippi state senator. With tea party support and endorsements from Club for Growth and Sarah Palin, he is challenging Cochran, and the race has been heated, with plenty of name-calling.
When the incident first came to light, McDaniel's campaign distanced the candidate from Kelly, saying he was neither a volunteer nor a member of the campaign.

"I've reached out to Sen. Cochran directly to express my abhorrence for the reprehensible actions of this individual. This criminal act is deeply offensive, and my team and I categorically reject such appalling behavior. My thoughts and prayers are with Sen. Cochran and his family," McDaniel said in a statement. "Politics is about the exchange of ideas and this type of action has no place in politics whatsoever and will not be tolerated."

Questions started to arise, however, when members of Cochran's staff suggested that a McDaniel staffer apologized to a Cochran staffer before the police report was even released, according to The Clarion-Ledger. The implication from Cochran's staff was clear: McDaniel's team must have some connection with Kelly if they knew about his arrest before the news broke.

$100K for Man Accused of Exploiting Senator's Wife - ABC News

A magistrate in Mississippi has scheduled a preliminary hearing Thursday for a conservative Mississippi blogger who is accused of photographing the bedridden wife of Republican U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran without permission.

City Magistrate Dale Danks kept bond at $100,000 for Clayton Kelly, 28, at a hearing Sunday, Assistant Police Chief Robert Sanders said. Police were also looking into the possibility that other people were involved.

"That is certainly one of the focal points of the investigation," Sanders said in an email.

Kelly was arrested Friday on a charge of exploiting a vulnerable adult. He's accused of using an image of Cochran's wife, who suffers from dementia and has been in a nursing home since 2000, in an online video.

It's the Home Stretch to Midterm Mini-Super Tuesday - NBC News

The strange (and ugly) story down in Mississippi

Finally, this story more than got our attention over the weekend: “Authorities say a conservative Mississippi blogger went into a nursing home, photographed the bedridden wife of Republican U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran without permission and posted an image online as part of a video,” the AP said. “Rose Cochran, 72, has lived at St. Catherine's Village since 2000 and has dementia. Clayton Thomas Kelly, 28, of Pearl, was arrested Friday and charged with a felony, exploitation of a vulnerable adult, Madison police said. Kelly remained in the Madison County Detention Center on Saturday on $100,000 bond.” Here is where things get a murky (and potentially ugly): Kelly happens to be a supporter of Cochran primary opponent Chris McDaniel, and the McDaniel campaign says it has no connection with Kelly. But the McDaniel campaign has provided somewhat contradictory explanations about when it knew about the break-in. And the central question in this story has become: Was the campaign -- in any way -- tied to this? And of course, what’s the motivation to do this? Well, some McDaniel supporters (or Cochran detractors, however you want to refer to them) have been trying to start a whisper campaign about Cochran’s fidelity. That’s the potential motivation here, but the story is VERY complicated -- a spouse in a nursing home for over a decade. This isn’t as cut and dried as your typical attempt at digging into someone’s personal life. It’s ugly.

Blogger accused of sneaking into nursing home, taking photo of Sen. Cochran's bed-ridden wife | Fox News

A Mississippi man snuck into the nursing home of Republican Sen. Thad Cochran's bed-ridden wife, then took a photo of her that he posted on his political blog, police say.

The suspect, Clayton Thomas Kelly, 28, of Pearl, Miss. was arrested Friday night on a charge of exploitation of a vulnerable adult and is being held on a $100,000 bond, according to the Clarion-Ledger newspaper...

...The Associated Press reported that Kelly's Facebook page includes one photo of Kelly with McDaniel at a campaign meet-and-greet event and another photo of a McDaniel campaign sign. Kelly's blog includes a post that says: "When it comes to Republicans with a bad voting record, you can't get any worse than Thad Cochran. Thad should represent the 'Controlled Opposition' Wing of the Republicans more than John McCain or Lindsey Graham."

From the Clarion-Ledger (Mississippi):
Man arrested for sneaking into Cochran's wife's nursing home

UPDATE: U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran's campaign is questioning how Chris McDaniel's campaign manager, state Sen. Melanie Sojourner, apparently knew about Clayton Kelly's arrest before news of him allegedly sneaking into Rose Cochran's nursing home room and taking photos broke.

Cochran campaign spokesman Jordan Russell said Sojourner left a voice mail message for Cochran campaign manager Kirk Sims at about 7:45 a.m. Saturday, offering condolences over Kelly's alleged actions and assurance McDaniel's campaign doesn't condone it. Russell said Sojourner indicated she had been concerned over the incident since Friday night.


A Pearl man who runs a political blog is accused of sneaking into a nursing home where U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran's wife is bedridden and photographing her, then posting the image in a video political "hit piece" on the internet.

From Breitbart:
McDaniel Supporter Arrested for Sneaking into MS Senator Thad Cochran's Wife's Nursing Home Room

What has been described as an "ugly" primary campaign between the tea-party backed state Senator Chris McDaniel and longtime incumbent Senator Thad Cochran, got a lot uglier yesterday when a McDaniel supporter was arrested for sneaking into Cochran's wife's nursing home room.

The supporter, Clayton Thomas Kelly, 28, of Pearl MS, allegedly photographed Rose Cochran, who is incapacitated with progressive dementia, and bedridden. He later posted the image in a pro-Chris McDaniel video "hit piece" on his conservative blog, taking it down after only a couple of hours.

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Pretty nasty. Pretty darned nasty.


It should be noted that almost every website is either calling Kelly a "Tea Party blogger" or "Conservative Blogger" and indeed Chris McDaniel, whom he supports, is a Tea Party candidate, but I have found no direct evidence that Kelly is a Tea Party member. It's not as if they keep membership lists online. His politics website is called "Constitutional Clayton".

 

[LiberalMedia]

Tea Party nutcases breaking the law they say they want their government to follow? What a surprise!

Except not really. Good riddance to this self-glorified stalker.

 

[Statistikhengst]

Important UPDATE:

Tea party leader, Laurel man arrested in Cochran case

Mark Mayfield, MS Tea Party leader

Tea party leader, Laurel man arrested in Cochran case

Authorities say the vice chairman of the Mississippi Tea Party and two other men conspired with Clayton Kelly to photograph U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran's bedridden wife in her nursing home and create a political video against Cochran.

Mark Mayfield of Ridgeland, an attorney and state and local tea party leader, was arrested Thursday along with Richard Sager, a Laurel elementary school P.E. teacher and high school soccer coach. Police said they also charged John Beachman Mary of Hattiesburg, but he was not taken into custody because of "extensive medical conditions." All face felony conspiracy charges. Sager also was charged with felony tampering with evidence, and Mary faces two conspiracy counts.

The arrest of Mayfield, well-known in political, business and legal circles, caused shock in Mississippi, in a criminal case and election that already had Mississippi in the national spotlight.

So, according to the charges, the Tea Party was indeed in on this.


Also being reported here:

Three More Arrested In 'Constitutional Clayton' Blogger Case


Mississippi tea party activist arrested in connection with Thad Cochran case

Authorities on Thursday arrested Mark Mayfield, his attorney Merrida Coxwell told Post Politics in a brief interview. Mayfield is the vice chairman of the Mississippi Tea Party and a supporter of state Sen. Chris McDaniel, Cochran's GOP primary opponent.

The Madison Police Department said it also arrested two others in connection with the investigation: Richard Sager and John Mary, who was released due to an extensive medical condition.

The news comes on the heels of the arrest of blogger Clayton Thomas Kelly last Friday on allegations that he filmed Cochran's wife, Rose Cochran, in a nursing home and posted at least one image of her in an online video. Kelly has written items praising McDaniel and criticizing Cochran.

Tea party official among those charged in Cochran photo case | Local News - WAPT Home

(Video at the link)

Mark Mayfield, who is a member of the board of directors for the Central Mississippi Tea Party, was arrested Thursday by the Madison Police Department. Mayfield, a Ridgeland real estate attorney, is charged with conspiracy.

Richard Sager, a gym teacher and assistant soccer coach at an elementary school in Laurel, was also arrested Thursday, Guest said. Sager is charged with evidence tampering and conspiracy...

...Bond was set at $250,000 for Mayfield, $500,000 for Sager and $200,000 for Kelly.

2 more arrested over photo of senator's bedridden wife


Mississippi Senate: Arrest In Cochran Wife's Photo Case - Business Insider


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Good times down in Mississippi...