DEDHAM, Mass. — Karen Read’s Massachusetts execution proceedings has galvanized a perplexing cult following, pinch hordes of pink-clad supporters gathering extracurricular nan courthouse each time to take sides nan accused slayer arsenic nan unfortunate of a corrupt frame-up.
Hundreds of Read backers waited pinch bated activity Friday for a jury’s verdict successful nan lawsuit — during nan fourth time of deliberations astatine nan Norfolk County Superior Courthouse successful Dedham, Mass.
The 44-year-old is charged pinch second-degree execution for allegedly mowing down her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, pinch her Lexus SUV arsenic she was dropping him disconnected astatine a Canton, Mass. location wherever his bull buddies were partying connected Jan. 29, 2022.
Prosecutors declare Read, a erstwhile adjunct teacher astatine Bentley University, past drove off, leaving O’Keefe to dice extracurricular arsenic a snowfall large wind was group to expanse in.
Read’s lawyers astatine nan proceedings — which has been live-streamed during nan 2 months of proceedings — based on she was framed successful a sweeping rule enforcement cover-up and that O’Keefe really died aft getting into an altercation pinch his serviceman pals.
The anticipation that Read was framed seems to person fascinated nan nationalist which has had uninterrupted entree to what’s going connected successful nan courtroom done a video provender of nan proceedings and besides acknowledgment to online sleuths — including nan arguable “Turtleboy” blogger.
Meanwhile, Nick Rocco, 29, told The Post he runs a Facebook group of 50,000 group who’ve helped raise $250,000 for Read’s ineligible defense.
“We put up advertisements successful Foxborough,” Rocco said. “We person mobile trucks present driving astir nan court.”
Rocco said nan group hired lawyers to thief them get amended entree to nan proceedings aft they were pushed down a “buffer zone” astir nan courthouse.
“It’s taking our state of reside away,” Rocco said. “But we enactment back. We are law-abiding citizens. We person nary problems here.”
Rocco, a joined dad, said this lawsuit matters to him and others because it highlights that anyone could go nan unfortunate of a cover-up and if that happened it tin beryllium astir intolerable conflict against a authorities agency.
“How are you going to conflict them?” Rocco said. “They person nan guns, they person nan power, they person nan money to do what they want. If they want you, they will make it fresh conscionable for illustration they did to Karen Read.”
Rocco insisted nan activity supporting Read isn’t political.
“Because erstwhile personification is framed it doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat, aliases a Republican aliases an Independent,” he said. “It intends zero … and what matters present is to free Karen Read and get justness for John O’Keefe.”
TD Floras, 62 — who drove astir an hr from Nashua, New Hampshire — echoed Rocco’s sentiment that nan injustice and specter of a framework occupation is what drew her into nan case.
“I deliberation she’s opinionated up to corruption, that’s why group are supporting her,” Floras said.
“Why do I care?” Floras said. “Because Karen Read tin beryllium anybody. I’m judge a batch of group are astir apt successful jailhouse and are guiltless because of investigations that weren’t done properly…but they didn’t person nan intends aliases notoriety to conflict this for illustration she did.”
Floras said she sewage hooked connected nan lawsuit by watching nan regular unrecorded streams of nan proceedings — which made her truthful knowledgeable astir nan lawsuit that she knew nan circumstantial grounds number for nan portion of grounds she said killed nan prosecutions lawsuit successful her eyes.
“Exhibit #19 to maine is wherever nan prosecution mislaid maine months ago,” Floras said. “When I saw nan photograph of John O’Keefe’s limb you couldn’t reconcile their type of what happened.”
Read’s lawyers person said O’Keefe’s injuries, including an alleged canine wound connected his arm, couldn’t person been from a onslaught from a 7,000-pound SUV going astir 26 miles per hour.
Rather, nan injuries show O’Keefe suffered a caput wounded during a beingness fight, her lawyers contend, adding nan alleged canine wound would person travel from Albert’s dog.
Another Read fan, Elaine Casamassima, 55, of Sandwich, Mass. said she utilized 75 hours of picnic clip astatine activity to show up for Read’s trial.
“I want to support personification I judge in, who is not guilty,” Casamassima said.
Casamassima, for illustration Rocco, and galore others, first recovered retired astir nan lawsuit done nan “Turtleboy” blog, which is tally by Aidan Kearney and promotes nan defense mentation that Read is bing group up.
Kearney put witnesses successful nan lawsuit connected blast for their alleged conspiracy against Read and he was moreover arrested successful October for allegedly “harassing, threatening and intimidating” witnesses and investigators done messages.
While nan immense mostly of group extracurricular nan tribunal are Read supporters, a fistful of group who judge she’s blameworthy besides showed up Friday and were met pinch a dispute reception pinch 1 pro-Read activistic launching a committedness and different flipping nan vertebrate astatine their opposers.
Lindsey Gaetani, who showed up holding a motion that publication “Karen Read Killed a Man!” said she think’s everyone who’s mobilized for Read has excessively overmuch clip connected their hands and are easy swayed.
“People are lonely, saturated group pinch thing amended to do,” Gaetani said. “They want to consciousness for illustration they are a portion of thing and they don’t attraction what it stands for.”
“They wounded nan victim’s family. They wounded nan witnesses successful this case, they wounded nan victim’s representation arsenic well,” she added. “That is not activism, that’s terrorism!”
One witnesser astatine trial, Allison McCabe, cried connected nan witnesser stand arsenic she said astir nan harassment that different witnesser successful nan case, Colin Albert, received from group online.
Another counter-protester, Kate Peter besides had a skeptical return connected nan support for Read: “This is nan consequence of a multimillion-dollar societal media [Public Relations] apparatus. It’s nan aforesaid logic why group attraction who Lady Gaga is astatine this point. They made her into a star.”
As Read headed into nan courthouse Friday, 1 of her supporters yelled “stay strong!”
“Always,” Read replied, placing her manus connected her heart.
When Read’s dad, William Read, was asked by The Post really he feels astir nan support his girl is getting, he said it felt “gratifying” and “overwhelming.”
Read has been retired connected bail but she faces up to life successful situation if she’s convicted of second-degree murder. The assemblage will proceed deliberating connected Monday.
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