As the Elon Musk-owned Twitter suspended waves of journalists last week after sweeping rule changes, one Inlander reporter — me — had his Twitter account temporarily suspended. Friday morning, my Twitter account had been locked after I posted a thread connecting alt-right propagandist David Reilly to campaign ads produced for the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee. I'd posted screenshots showing the ad company paid by the Republicans — Idaho Dynamics — used the same P.O. Box as Reilly's campaign, triggering someone to absurdly report my account for "doxxing," publishing private address information. My account was restored Saturday evening. A tweet from extremism reporter Nick Martin inspired Ella Irwin, vice president of Trust and Safety at Twitter, to acknowledge that the employee who handled the complaint had screwed up. In the meantime, I've learned that another North Idaho-based political ad company, "Red Shield Media" was created last year by "Matthew Colligan." That matches the name of one of Reilly's alt-right comrades, nicknamed "Millennial Matt," who registered to vote in Idaho in 2019. But under Twitter's new regime, is that the kind of thing that's legal to post? (DANIEL WALTERS)
SLAP FOR TCAPP
Late last week, Spokane Superior Court Judge Tim Fennessy issued $110,000 in penalties against the Church at Planned Parenthood for violating a state law that prevents protests from interfering with health clinics. The anti-abortion group once led by Pastor Ken Peters, who now lives in Tennessee, was blocked from protesting outside Spokane's Planned Parenthood clinic by a permanent injunction in July 2021. Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho said that while they respect "the right to protest and peaceful assembly, the First Amendment does not protect conduct that is intended to interfere with patient care," and noted that excessive noise can contribute to hypertension, pain and psychiatric symptoms, particularly in reproductive health settings. On Facebook, Peters said they owe Planned Parenthood a lot of money for "singing, praying and preaching" on days they suspected the clinic provided abortion services, and he said, "I would do it again. It's a badge of honor." (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)
HOPE HIATUS
Don't expect Camp Hope to disappear anytime soon. Spokane County Sheriff-elect John Nowels says his deputies won't clear the East Central homeless encampment because they're wary of violating the temporary restraining order signed by a judge last week. The order came after sheriff's deputies entered the camp to distribute flyers telling residents the camp was going to be closed. Nowels says his deputies will continue to go to the camp if called, or for existing warrants, but not for anything that could "be misinterpreted as asking them to leave or vacate the premises." Spokane Police Chief Craig Meidl used Monday's news conference with Nowels to highlight the ongoing rise in crime he associates with the camp. According to Meidl, crime within a quarter-mile of the camp is up 79 percent so far this year compared to 2021. In response, the department has stationed two officers outside the camp for several months now, but it's unclear what effect they've had on crime rates. "We're still having the issue with crime," Meidl says. (NATE SANFORD) ♦