The end of incarceration may be near for YouTuber and self-proclaimed historical figure Craig Hendry as a plea deal has been reached in his Sullivan County, Indiana, case, bail has been set in his Vermillion County, Indiana, case and the ACLU may be joining in his Greene County, Indiana, appeal.
Starting with the ACLU news. Attorney Joshua T. Bleisch has petitioned the court to allow the ACLU to appear as amicus curiae in the appeal, stating that it has concerns about overbroad limits of Indiana’s false reporting statue.
Bleisch wrote:
“The ACLU of Indiana is frequently involved in litigation challenging what it believes to be unconstitutionally vague and overbroad laws that chill or punish expression protected by the First Amendment.
Furthermore, while the ACLU of Indiana does not represent people in criminal cases, the conviction of Mr. Hendry in this case threatens fundamental constitutional rights. The ACLU of Indiana understands that Appellant’s brief will address the application of Indiana’s false reporting statute, Indiana Code § 35-44.1-2-3, to Mr. Hendry’s protected political hyperbole. To the extent this Court wishes to address only applicability to Mr. Hendry’s political hyperbole, this case can be resolved by holding simply that the statute does not apply to such speech.
Here, the ACLU of Indiana seeks to write separately to address its concerns that the government may use overbroad or vague portions of its false reporting statute to stifle Hoosiers’ ability to use political hyperbole and petition their local governments, or to retaliate against Hoosiers for expressing uncomfortable facts or unpopular viewpoints.
The ACLU of Indiana therefore has an interest in the outcome of this case and its impact on the rights of Hoosiers and accordingly believes that it may be of assistance to the Court in resolving the issues that the case presents and in interpreting the constitutionality of Indiana Code § 35-44.1-2-3.”
Hendry was convicted of making a false report about a police officer in Greene County last year and has already served time for that conviction. He is appealing the conviction and not the sentencing.
The court has yet to rule on allowing the ACLU to join the case.
The YouTuber was also made his initial appearance in Vermillion County on March 30, 2026, for charges of Intimidation: Threat to commit a forcible felony and Battery that he picked up while incarcerated last year in the Vermillion County Jail.
That hearing had been previously delayed due to connection issues with the ZOOM teleconference software.
“The State of Indiana appears. Defendant appears in custody, having been transported from Sullivan County Jail. Initial Hearing is conducted. Defendant is advised of his/her constitutional rights, the nature of the charge(s), possible penalties and right to counsel. Defendant waives the right to be represented by counsel at this time and informs the Court that he will possibly hire counsel. The Defendant is provided with a Waiver of Attorney form in open Court. The Court reads the form to the Defendant on the record. The Defendant confirms that he is waiving counsel at this time and does not want to be represented by a public defender, but refuses to sign the Adult Waiver of Attorney form. Court enters a preliminary plea of not guilty, which becomes a formal plea of not guilty in twenty (20) days, unless Defendant changes said plea. Defendant’s bail is set at $25,000.00 with NO 10% allowed. Court now assigns this case for a Jury Trial on August 11, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. and Pre-Trial Conference on June 1, 2026 at 1:30 p.m. These hearings will be held in the Vermillion Circuit Court. Defendant is ORDERED to appear for said hearings. Defendant acknowledges the same in open Court. The Court sets an Omnibus date on May 26,2026. Defendant does not need to appear for the Omnibus date. A reciprocal discovery order shall be entered under a separate order.”
The court’s requirement that Hendry pay the full $25,000.00 is a significant setback for Hendry, who has shown that his supporters will help with smaller bail amounts in the past via GoFundMe campaigns. However, even if paid, Hendry is still under the care of the Sullivan County Jail where he is awaiting trial for Intimidation: Committed because of the occupation and Disorderly Conduct – unreasonable noise.
A plea agreement was filed for the Sullivan County charges on April 2, 2026. No details have been released about the plea agreement, and the Judge has yet to sign off on what was presented.
Hendry is currently set for a pre-trial conference on April 20, 2026, with his full jury trial set for May 6, 2026.
Just for the record, by granting him bail, even if he cannot pay it, he will be eligible to take any time he has served in jail and discount the time he has to serve if he is convicted. So if he is convicted and gets 6 month in jail but he has stayed in jail for 5 of those months, he would only have to serve the last month of the sentence. On a historical note, they used to take any pre conviction confinement and count the days as double towards the sentence. They do not do that anymore sadly.