MADISON, Miss.–Sneaking into the nursing home where Sen. Thad Cochran’s wife lives and snapping pictures of her, then posting them on the internet is the charge against political blogger Clayton Kelly. Sunday his bond was left at $100,000.
The charge is exploiting a vulnerable adult. Rose Cochran had dementia and has been at St. Catherine’s since 2000. She’s bedridden and could not give consent for the photos.
Kelly was arrested this weekend and went before Judge Dale Danks Sunday. He believed the charge to be serious and the case substantial enough to keep bond high, despite Kelly’s attorney’s request to lower it to $25,000 or $10,000, with the argument that Kelly was cooperating.
Kelly had one previous charge, misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.
The Madison Police Dept. was informed of the pictures and began their investigation May 15.
McDaniel’s camapign issued this statement Saturday, following some questions in the media as to whether the campaign had prior knowledge of the investigation or the actions of Kelly before his arrest:
The McDaniel campaign found out about the break in when a local political blog posted about it at 11:40 p.m. last night (Friday night). Senator McDaniel has denounced the break-in and called Senator Cochran to extend his condolences. It is unconscionable for the Cochran campaign and the liberal media to use the act of a sick individual to lob despicable accusations.
During the Sunday hearing, a representative of the Madison Police Dept. said, “The investigation is still on-going and there are other individuals we wish to speak to who might have been a part of this conspiracy.”
There was no elaboration on that, so it was not clear who else the police believe may have been involved.
