Adam Herbets, FOX 13 🏔️ Profile picture
Sep 14, 2022 18 tweets 7 min read Read on X
This article by @BrandyZadrozny identifies Utah County Attorney David Leavitt @Leavitt_RJI as a victim of “baseless” accusations.

Yes, the article mentions me.

🧵 I’ll be posting a few of my thoughts in this thread below.

nbcnews.com/tech/internet/… Image
1 - David Leavitt is innocent until proven guilty. He is also one of the suspects in a still-active ritualistic child sex abuse case.

Nobody wrote an article about his involvement until he held a press conference announcing himself as a suspect. Image
2 - The article headline states the accusations are “fueled by QAnon believers and GOP influencers.”

I don’t see anywhere in this article that identifying an alleged victim or accuser matching this description.
3 - The 151-page report referenced in this article is one of many public records describing ritualistic sex abuse.

The female victim has multiple siblings who gave similar statements. They authored reports and performed interviews with police long before QAnon existed. Image
4 - During his press conference, David Leavitt demonstrated he has intimate knowledge of another suspect in this case. He has previously identified the woman as an honest victim of ritualistic sex abuse. Now he refers to her as “hopelessly mentally ill.”
5 - The still-active investigation is briefly mentioned within the article, paragraph 13.

Again, each of the individuals named in these reports are innocent until proven guilty. But investigators from multiple agencies are disgusted to see their work labeled as “baseless.”
6 - The article makes no mention of how David Leavitt is also under investigation by Homeland Security for human trafficking.

In this video, Leavitt describes a “strategy” to obtain a Native American baby. He offers Ukrainian buffalo.

Full video:
fox13now.com/news/fox-13-in…
7 - The author’s news organization has possession of the video.

For unknown reasons, @NBCNews has never published the video or acknowledged existence of the human trafficking investigation tied to that video.
8 - The article says Leavitt, a Republican, has a “liberal style of prosecution” and blames “partisan media and conservative politicians” for amplifying claims against him.

Again, nobody published an article about Leavitt’s involvement until he announced himself as a suspect.
9 - Then the article labels me as a “Fox News reporter.”

I have never worked for @FoxNews. I work for a local news station with no right or left-leaning bias. KSTU is an affiliate owned by EW Scripps. Affiliate means we only have local FOX programming, like the Simpsons and NFL.
10 - Investigators with multiple agencies tied to the active ritualistic sex abuse case say, in broad terms, @BrandyZadrozny makes good points about the pervasiveness of conspiracy theories like QAnon.

Yes, not all tips are credible. In this case, one suspect already confessed. Image
11 - “I am sorry for raping you.”

This is the same suspect mentioned by David Leavitt in his press conference.

Leavitt also testified during this man’s divorce proceedings. The content of that testimony is sealed.
12 - @UCSO has received 130+ tips since announcing its investigation into ritualistic child sex abuse. Even after Leavitt named himself as a suspect, UCSO refuses to confirm or deny names.

They say the majority of the 130 tips ARE credible. Some were forwarded to other agencies.
13 - David Leavitt, through his spokesperson, agreed to an interview to discuss the ongoing Homeland Security investigation into how he obtained a baby from the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana. But not until after the election.

We're still waiting. It's been nearly 3 months. ImageImage
14 - In 2020, Leavitt himself was asked whether he believed ritualistic sexual abuse exists.

He said yes, it certainly exists. In one example he gave, he (unknowingly?) mentioned his accuser(s) and another known suspect in the case.
15 - At the time of that 2020 interview, David Leavitt had already been under investigation by Homeland Security for several years. The video is evidence in that case. Image
16 - I appreciate all the questions and comments this thread has received. I believe journalism is based on facts, not commentary. I'll answer as many questions as possible, but I won't be answering questions asking for my opinion. Image

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More from @AdamHerbets

Feb 21
BREAKING - Ritualistic sex abuse charges against David Hamblin in Utah County have been DISMISSED due to discovery issues.

Defense attorneys were not given access to a key piece of evidence: interview(s) with alleged victim.

He still faces criminal charges in Sanpete County. Image
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2 - The judge is currently deciding whether the case should be dismissed "with prejudice" or "without prejudice."

This would determine whether charges could be refiled.

Special prosecutor Nathan Evershed argued the case should be dismissed without prejudice. Image
3 - David Hamblin's attorneys have asked the judge to "set an evidentiary hearing to determine whether Utah County Investigators Elise Hines and/or Jason Randall have knowingly and willfully withheld evidence in this case." Image
Read 11 tweets
Oct 25, 2024
Tim Ballard lawsuit update: A lot of Utah strip clubs are being subpoenaed.

They're asking for records related to Tim Ballard, Matt Osborne, Mike Porenta, and Matt Cooper Image
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Tim Ballard's attorney says all of the subpoeanas should be quashed because the records contain "highly sensitive and confidential information belonging not only to Mr. Ballard, but also to individuals and entities who have nothing to do with this case..." Image
One of the subpoenas is for Mac's Place.

The "unofficial office" for Utah AG Sean Reyes, where he allegedly sits "on a leather chair that Kanye West purchased" for him.

It asks for additional records related to Sean Reyes, Paul Hutchinson, LAVA, the Nazarene Fund, the Global Empowerment Fund, the Spear Fund, and Aerial Recovery.Image
Image
Read 4 tweets
Oct 22, 2024
BREAKING - Six women have filed a federal lawsuit against Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad.

The lawsuit alleges they violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) Image
(2) By my count, this is Lawsuit #8

Lawsuit #6 in which Tim Ballard is a defendant.

The plaintiffs are: Celeste Borys, Mary Hall, Sasha Hightower, Krista Kacey, Kira Lynch, and Bree Righter

The defendants are: Timothy (Tim) Ballard, Matthew (Matt) Cooper, Michael (Mike) Porenta, Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), and MS Williams & Company
(3) Here are the full documents.

It's 183 pages.

Feel free to read along with me.

documentcloud.org/documents/2524…Image
Read 32 tweets
Jul 8, 2024
BREAKING — Sperm on alleged victim’s skirt “was a 100% match of (Tim) Ballard’s DNA” according to latest court filing.

Celeste Borys is one of the women accusing Tim Ballard of sexual assault. She used to be his executive assistant.

She and her attorneys say detectives told them about the 100% DNA match after the skirt was sent to the Utah Crime Lab, but detectives won’t release the paperwork because criminal investigation is ongoing.Image
(2) Several months ago, Tim Ballard’s psychic, Janet Russon, released a YouTube video explaining it might be because he shared a suitcase with Celeste.

Her attorneys tell me they never shared a suitcase.

So far, Tim Ballard’s team has not commented.
(3) So far, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office has not commented.

“As a sex assault victim, Plaintiff believes she is entitled to the results.” Image
Read 10 tweets
Apr 26, 2024
NEW - The State Records Committee is "disgusted" after learning @UCSO spent five months withholding public records related to a criminal investigation into Tim Ballard.

fox13now.com/news/fox-13-in…
2 - I filed the request on November 30, 2023.

At the time, @UCSO falsely stated it "does not maintain responsive documents."

I appealed, but UCSO stuck with that story until a few days prior to our hearing in April 2024. Then they released the records.
@UCSO 3 - The State Records Committee was not happy with the lack of explanation from Ben Van Noy, the attorney representing UCSO at the hearing.
Read 9 tweets
Feb 23, 2024
BREAKING - A fifth lawsuit has been filed against Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad.

For the first time, Angel Studios and the Harmon Brothers are also being sued. That's the company behind Sound of Freedom.

Here comes another long thread. Image
2. The plaintiffs are Kely Johana Suarez Moya and Luz Miriam Moya Solano.

They are represented by the same attorneys who filed the previous four cases.

Other defendants include Tim Ballard's wife (Katherine Ballard) and Tim Ballard's psychic (Janet Russon). Image
3. "This is a case of a young Colombian woman who was tragically condemned by the Defendants to the entire world as being a child trafficker without any due process or due diligence by the Defendants."

Complaint is 369 pages. Read along with me, below!

documentcloud.org/documents/2443…

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Read 58 tweets

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