I’m a Swiftie. Apparently that’s Illegal in Michigan.

Written in 2024. Updated July 2026 with everything that’s happened since.

Being an investigative journalist and human rights advocate, I have experienced my fair share of both weird and wonderful things.

Perhaps the weirdest, is my arrest.

I do not look like and most definitely am not, a criminal. I am by all accounts, Miss Americana.

For 37 years, I walked this Earth with a perfectly blemish-free record. I worked for the Federal Government. I was a wife and mom living the dream, until I wasn’t. I was unfortunate enough to be dragged along for the ride in my spouse’s Barry County, Michigan case, where I watched every step of it go wrong; police, prosecutorial, and judicial misconduct at every turn.

When he was unexpectedly sent to prison in January 2023 because of a hidden plea agreement that Barry County intentionally buried (now well documented and on case record) and bullied us into submission by saying it didn’t exist (also on court record), I knew I was not the Barry County “justice” system’s first victim, but I could expose it all and be one of the last. I sprang into action and became a freelance investigative journalist. I was finding things quicker than they could cover them up, sending them absolutely panicking to rectify their errors; witness tampering, shoddy evidence, Brady violations.

In September 2023, I made it blatantly aware to Julie Nakfoor Pratt and Christopher Elsworth that I knew MSP Detective Bryan Fuller, the lead detective on my husband’s case, has wrongfully convicted a man and was sued to the tune of $14.5 million dollars, and they failed to disclose it entirely.

A tangible paper trail was building, shining light on the misconduct. People were talking and stories were piling up. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was my new best friend. I was unstoppable, publishing my findings on this very blog.

A movement was growing; I was invited to a Forensic Conference to discuss my open source investigation techniques, and how I was using it to help victims of criminal justice system misconduct.

But apparently I knew too much, was being too loud, and to them, I was a liability. My existence threatened their status quo and I had to be silenced.

The Arrest

On October 5, 2023, I was arrested for exercising my first amendment rights to redress public officials and, as an independent journalist, publish my findings.

They knew they had effectively made me a single mom due to their prosecutorial and judicial misconduct, but elected to keep me overnight in a drunk tank where incarcerated workers could look in and see me using the bathroom, intentionally violating PREA.

How do I know? Because I heard Barry County Sheriff’s Deputies not so quietly whispering, “The Prosecutor wants to keep her overnight.” The same woman who sits on a board with Safe Harbor and claims to protect children wanted to further traumatize mine.

To silence me (and do damage control after I uncovered insurance underwriting fraud, botched cases, and murder cover-ups), I was unconstitutionally banned from the internet for an entire month. It cost me my job with the federal government.

I watched bullshit press releases fly out to local news stations so they could make themselves look like false heroes and control the narrative; a big reason why I will never trust the media again and why former attorney generals had to speak out against them.

The Judge in Ryan’s case, Judge Michael Schipper, recused himself from my case before immediately doubling down; he and Julie Nakfoor Pratt chose to punish Ryan for my investigative journalism by refusing to correct the upward departure he had imposed on him.

I was horrified.

And I couldn’t fight back.

In the beginning, I represented myself because I couldn’t find a lawyer who would take me as a client. Largely, I have discovered most attorneys are largely cowards and afraid of AG Dana Nessel and any retaliation they may face.

How is that a fair case?

When I contacted my own county’s law enforcement, (Kalamazoo County), they were absolutely horrified to hear what had happened to me. They disgustedly said that that would have never happened here. The deputy who came to my home was very much concerned for my safety, and told me to lock my door and get a good security system.

He said the loud part out loud. Obviously, First Amendment cases shouldn’t be prosecuted cases at all; one would think seasoned prosecutors like Julie Nakfoor Pratt would know better than to charge people for exercising their constitutional rights. But her own history tells on her; silencing and punishing people is part of her regular routine.

And I know now from first hand experience, it happens everyday. Prosecutors regularly violate the constitution and hide behind qualified immunity. I contacted dozens of lawyers who refused my case because the charges were and still are, laughable.

The ones I found who would take my case, were clout chasers, looking for a viral media payday.

Out of defiance, I dyed the tips of my hair pink. I continued to use my growing platform to discuss misconduct. I made new friends and contacts. I was feeling confident that I could beat this.

Then, they began playing dirty tricks; sending me filings just before my spouse had court because they knew the timeline would be tight and they didn’t want anyone, least of all me, to be there for him.

I will never forget the morning I opened my inbox to see an email titled “Motion to Revoke Bond.” When I opened it, I did a double take. Perhaps because they knew (and still know to this day) that they had no legitimate case, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office was trying to revoke my bond, over Taylor Swift lyrics.

Yes, you read that right. Taylor Swift.

Clear as day in Exhibit 1:

All I could think was, “you have got to be shitting me.”

Pages and pages of the motion’s exhibit demonstrated the Prosecutors filling their camera rolls with images of me. I later found out they printed and posted pictures of me all over their office.

My informants were threatened with charges if they continued talking to me. It felt like a scene out of a bad made-for-TV movie.

I shook my head in a mixture of disbelief and disgust.

Who exactly was stalking who?

I immediately sat down and wrote a response. I was livid, but the words flowed freely. The prosecutor must have realized how ridiculous his initial motion was, because shortly thereafter, he amended it.

And I responded to that, too.

I then filed an emergency injunction at the federal level, knowing that they were going to keep trying to shut me up. Thankfully, the judge ultimately denied the AG’s motion.

In December 2023, they offered me a plea deal. I said no. Instead, I offered them information on corruption that would keep their office busy for years. The Attorney General’s Office, Phillip Jacques specifically, the same man who attempted to shame me for being a sexual assault survivor, refused to do anything with the information, protecting bad actors under her supervision.

Sadly, I am not alone in being punished as a whistleblower in Michigan. The culture of ethical dishonesty is heavy in the air.

Straight From the Tortured Poet’s Department

As I sat and listened to The Tortured Poet’s Department this week, I realized that Taylor and I have been admitted into a unique club. We have both experienced suppression of our ideas and thoughts simply because someone doesn’t like them. We’ve had opportunists grasp at straws solely to limit free speech. We’ve had our artistic expression deemed “dangerous.”

This isn’t new; in 1998, Korn had a similar situation occur. Multiple artists have been silenced time and time again.

The sad and true lesson out of all of this, is that free speech is fragile. The battle to protect our rights is never really over. We have to keep fighting for it.

Journalism is often described as the backbone of democracy, and for good reason. Without free speech and journalism, society fails to generate new ideas or develop critical thinking necessary to move society forward. To do better.

Whether it’s song lyrics or a story about corruption: freedom is the ability to speak truth when it isn’t popular; even when your voice shakes.

Stand up. Speak your truth. Don’t let a privileged few intimidate you, even if it’s an elected official.

All’s fair in love and poetry,
Devoted Contributor, The Tortured Poet’s Department

Here’s What’s Happened Since