A judge has dismissed a contempt charge brought against an activist who withheld information from police about the disappearance of Ralph Jean-Marie of Barre, citing a law that protects journalists from being forced to share information about their sources.
The activist, Lee Morrigan, has criticized law enforcement throughout the case for not prioritizing Jean-Marie’s disappearance because he’s a Black, low-income man. The charges were dropped Monday in a notice from Vermont Superior Court Judge Mary Morrissey.
In early May, the state asked Morrigan, who uses they/them pronouns, at a hearing to provide the names of people who had told them that Barre law enforcement had video evidence from the motel where Jean-Marie was last seen.
Morrigan refused, which prompted the contempt charge. They said they feared that the people would face retribution from the police. The state won’t confirm whether the video evidence exists.
In the dismissal, Morrissey found that Morrigan is protected under Vermont’s shield law, which protects journalists from revealing their sources to law enforcement. Morrigan obtained the information the state wanted while working on a documentary about Jean-Marie’s disappearance.
Morrissey also pointed to the prosecution’s admission that the state no longer sought the information Morrigan claimed to have, so there is no “coercive purpose” to hold Morrigan in contempt.
The charge had been filed by Washington County State’s Attorney Rory Thibault, who wanted Morrigan to spend one to two days in jail and pay a $500 fine.
When reached by VTDigger Tuesday, Morrigan said three months of stress had disappeared when they received news about the dismissal.
“I’m grateful because it informed my activism,” Morrigan said. “This has actually made me a far stronger activist than I ever otherwise would have been.”
Morrigan said they still believe Thibault pursued the contempt charge as a form of fear and intimidation after they criticized the police. Morrigan added that, although the ordeal was stressful, they’re grateful that the contempt case may have brought further media attention to Jean-Marie’s case.
They said they’re going to continue investigating Jean-Marie’s disappearance. “You picked the wrong person,” Morrigan said, referring to the prosecution.
When reached Tuesday, Thibault again denied to VTDigger that the contempt charge was a form of intimidation.
He said he thought the judge’s dismissal was to be expected. But he said he’s troubled by the breadth of the state’s shield law meant to protect journalists. “Is every person filming their own TikTok videos and posting it now considered a journalist?” he asked.
“I think what’s disappointing is that Mr. Morrigan’s sideshow has detracted from the real question of what happened to Ralph Jean-Marie,” Thibault said.
He said the inquest for information, which eventually led to the contempt charge against Morrigan, was only an effort to obtain information to solve Jean-Marie’s disappearance. He said he thought Morrigan’s refusal to cooperate was an effort to “embarrass” the police and make it seem as though their investigation was not thorough.
Over the past few weeks, he said, police have continued to search specific areas and used submersible vehicles to search several quarries in the area where evidence was rumored to have been located. But nothing new has been found so far, he said.
“The case remains open and active,” Thibault said. “Hopefully, over time, the courage and motivation for someone to come forward will arise. And I hope that when people do, they recognize that the process is about getting to the truth. It’s not about punishing people trying to do the right thing.”
