Standing in a relatively spacious jail cell, surrounded by photos of his loved ones and other personal items, jailed YouTuber Craig Hendry apparently used a video visit with one of those loved ones to record a new address to his legion of YouTube followers on Saturday.
In the eight-minute video, Hendry shows little remorse for the actions that saw him jailed for felony stalking and misdemeanor harassment. He made it clear that he believed it was the actions of others, who were inspired by one of his video posts, and not his own actions that resulted in his conviction of the charges.
The YouTuber, looking well fed and healthy, despite conducting a “hunger strike” when he was first jailed and was awaiting trial for his current stint in jail. He explained that he had an attorney working on an appeal for the charges and that he expected to prevail in his appeal as hundreds of others have never been charged with doing the activities that landed him in jail.
Bemoaning conditions within the jail, Hendry confirmed that he had filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against members of the staff for violating his due process rights in jail. In the state of Indiana, inmates are allowed limited rights to due process, including having a 24-hour written notice between a violation and a disciplinary hearing about the violation.
In the lawsuit, Hendry says that he received an informal conduct report for multiple alleged violations including intimidation, vulgarity towards staff and insolence. Hendry says he refused to sign the report which would have waived his ability to have a hearing, to present witnesses, cross-examine witnesses, and appeal sanctions imposed among other due process rights.
He claims that he was put in isolation and had his CHIRP communication device taken away on the same day of notification of the infractions, rather than the required 24-hour notice. The lawsuit is seeking “Punitive damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, nominal relief for filing fees and any attorney’s fees that may be incurred.”
Hendry himself is one of the better cared for inmates in the Vermillion County jail. Through direct donations from Jose “Chille” DeCastro and members of his “Team DLZ,” Hendry has a constant source of funding for his commissary needs and for the purchase of a tablet that would allow him access to games, eBooks and music.
DeCastro recently set up a GoFundMe for Hendry’s needs, which is said to be created in order to fund the $12,000.00 bond Hendry is facing in Sullivan County, Indiana. Hendry mocked the charges he’s facing, and the editor of the video briefly included footage from the Sullivan County arrest.
Hendry is set to be transferred to the Sullivan County correctional facility to await trial in late June when the YouTuber finishes his sentence in Vermillion County if he cannot pay the $12,000.00 cash bond.
While DeCastro has said that he is working on getting Hendry’s bond reduced and the charges dropped in the Sullivan County case, there is no action or pending motions on file within Hendry’s file by an outside party for those charges.
While Hendry said he was sure that he would beat the Sullivan County charges, he warned his viewers that he had more charges out of Greene County, Indiana, once the Sullivan County charges were resolved.
He said he was not thinking about the anguish he was going through, but that of his family, including his one-year-old daughter and six-year-old son. He said his son was suffering the most as he was robbed of his father during the most important time in his life.
Hendry video detailing his plight was not linked to Jose “Chille” DeCastro’s new GoFundMe campaign and was instead linked to Hendry’s existing generic GoFundMe campaign.
The generic campaign brought in $340.00 for the day while the DeCastro backed campaign brought in $5.00. Our own On-Going Expenses campaign came in second with $20.00. No other campaigns had donations for the day.
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The best thing that can be said to him, when in a hole, the first thing to do, is stop digging…
His son was robbed… yes and who is responsible for that?