“Citizen Journalist” and “political prisoner” Craig Hendry gave a muddled report from jail on Friday about his own evidentiary hearing and motion for direction in a Vermillion County, Indiana, court room.
Hendry started with an accusation that because he and his cameraman observed 4-5 police officers in the lobby of the building and a different 4-5 (“maybe a dozen total”) police officers stationed in the courtroom that the state was purposely and willingly attempting to intimidate Hendry.
The YouTuber, who has been incarcerated for over two weeks after having his bail revoked, pledged that he would not stand down from his fight for freedom and could not be intimidated by the police presence.
Turning to the hearing, Hendry mentioned that the prosecution wanted to bring up his past convictions and introduce his criminal history at trial. Hendry said this would paint him in the worst light as the prosecution would then be able to introduce his convictions of drug dealing, driving while under the influence and for domestic abuse.
The domestic abuse charge was strange at best, as Hendry said that the charge was no one’s business but his and his current girlfriend’s and that they had “worked it out” between them. He made a point of claiming that the girlfriend did not press charges and that the state was forced to press charges based on the law.
For the DUI and drug dealing charges, Hendry again glossed them over as being marijuana related. While marijuana dealing and driving while under the influence are still crimes in the state, Hendry again seemed to indicate that they were low level crimes and should have no bearing on his current stalking charges.
Hendry did not, as a “citizen journalist,” reveal if his past criminal history would be presented at trial. Instead, he rallied against the judge apparently deciding to keep his “no bond” status in place. Hendry argued that the Indiana state constitution guarantees bond to every prisoner.
While he could not back it up with case law, he did site cherry picked statutes that indicated that he was being held in jail illegally as he determined himself “not a flight risk” as he showed up to every hearing dressed nicely and clean shaven.
He again claimed that his lack of bond was a punitive measure, stating that the state was seeking to punish him by keeping him in jail until his November 19, 2024, trial.
Addressing the “special consideration” motion, Hendry explained it as the state bringing up his jail addresses being played on YouTube. He claimed that the judge admonished the prosecution for seeking copies of the videos from Hendry and his cameraman, as all calls are already recorded by the jail and could be accessed by the state.
Hendry took a tone indicating that the state would be working against he and his followers at his trail in late November. He warned his fans that if they were to come, the state may limit seating, and he wanted his fans to assure reserved seating for his wife and his girlfriend should that happen.
Hendry got some good news on Friday, as his association with Jose “Chille” DeCastro has paid off as donations to his GoFundMe, as briefly promoted by DeCastro, have resulted in $389.00 in donations for the month, to take the individual win for October.
