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Dissenter Weekly: Leak Prosecutions Against BLM Protesters, Police Whistleblower In Illinois

On this edition of the “Dissenter Weekly,” host and Shadowproof editor Kevin Gosztola provides an update on NSA whistleblower Reality Winner, who is incarcerated at FMC Carswell in Texas where a COVID-19 outbreak was confirmed.

Winner has spent the last months fighting for compassionate release into home confinement. She and her lawyers warned this would happen, and now, like all prisoners at Carswell, Winner’s safety is clearly in danger.

Later in the show, Gosztola covers two police stories that bear a striking similarity to the national security whistleblower stories he has tracked closely.

In Des Moines, Iowa, the Associated Press reported two Black Lives Matter protesters were extraordinarily charged with “unauthorized dissemination of intelligence data,” a felony that carries up to five years in prison. They allegedly took a police bulletin from an officer during a demonstration and then read the contents during a news broadcast.

Then, Sgt. Javier Esqueda, a police officer in Joliet, Illinois, was put on leave and demoted after he released a disturbing video showing how Eric Lurry, a black man, died while in the Joliet Police Department’s custody.

Esqueda’s whistleblowing is under criminal investigation. Authorities believe he gained “unauthorized access to a video that was being investigated by an outside agency.”

This week’s stories:

Kevin Gosztola

Kevin Gosztola

Kevin Gosztola is managing editor of Shadowproof. He also produces and co-hosts the weekly podcast, "Unauthorized Disclosure."