Two weeks after a judge threw out the criminal case against MauiTime Publisher Tommy Russo over his photographing Maui police officers, the County of Maui has appealed the decision.
Honolulu Civil Beat profiles Maui Time publisher Tommy Russo in a series dedicated to Hawaii residents "who aren't afraid to make waves" in the community.
MauiTime Publisher Tommy Russo has filed a lawsuit against the County of Maui, Maui Police Chief Gary Yabuta and Maui Police Officer Nelson Johnson over an April 2011 incident involving Russo, Johnson and members of Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman's security entourage.
"The police chose to arrest me in a direct attempt to stop the documenting of their activities," said Maui Time publisher Tommy Russo.
Themes of violence and romance cast a dark pall over Hawaii in Small Island, a new novel by Maui Time editor Anthony Pignataro.
With little fanfare, the County of Maui has withdrawn the subpoena for all IP addresses in a 24-hour period of online commenters for an April Maui Time story.
In response to the attempt by the Maui police and district attorney to subpoena identifying information about online commenters to Maui Time, Village Voice Media Holdings has pledged $1,000 to Maui Time to help in its legal efforts.
The Maui Police Department has issued a subpoena to obtain the IP addresses of Maui Time web commenters, citing the terroristic threatening of one of its officers.
"On the evening of April 12, I was assaulted by a member of reality star Duane 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' Chapman's security team," Maui Time publisher Tommy Russo writes. "Soon after, I was assaulted again, and had my First Amendment rights violated, by a member of the Maui Police Department."
Portland Mercury art director Justin "Scrappers" Morrison enjoys working for other AAN papers during his downtime.
