By God's grace, the court sided with me and protected my 1st Amendment Rights. Now that the period for appeal is over, I have made my account public again.
I'll be in court on Aug. 5 defending myself from an egregious violation of my first amendment rights as a journalist, and would appreciate your prayers.
— Jacob Stewart (@jstewartIN) July 27, 2024
I never thought that a little over a year ago when I started @indianacommons, we would have made such an impact at @IUPUI and other colleges throughout the state. I certainly didn't expect to be investigating sex crimes in the city, or for the two to ever be linked.
@indianacommons @IUPUI Our publication investigated a "bondage" class being hosted by IUPUI with a "local expert" back in February (subsequently it was canceled due to backlash, reported on by @indystar, @libsoftiktok, etc). Subsequently, we had several locals reach out to us.
@indianacommons @IUPUI @indystar @libsoftiktok They informed us of a scandal that had erupted in January, also on the pron website FetLife. A local school bus driver and sex club leader had confessed to a rape, and the club tried to cover it up until the video confession was leaked.
@indianacommons @IUPUI @indystar @libsoftiktok The club, officially IK Events, LLC (Studio 10 or IN Kink) had been legally dissolved, but continued operating until after the article was published. The school bus driver was also promptly fired by @MyZvilleSchools, where his mother was also employed.
@indianacommons @IUPUI @indystar @libsoftiktok @MyZvilleSchools After the article was published, several more community members reached out about illicit activity connected with the same community and website, namely prostitution and more cases of covered-up confessions of sexual assault.
@indianacommons @IUPUI @indystar @libsoftiktok @MyZvilleSchools Turns out, this illicit activity made the investigation come full circle and land right back at the university.
@indianacommons @IUPUI @indystar @libsoftiktok @MyZvilleSchools The prostitute in question, who appears to have frequently hosted parties around the city and at a local farm, had a long-standing relationship with an IU employee and student.
@indianacommons @IUPUI @indystar @libsoftiktok @MyZvilleSchools I went above and beyond to keep this student anonymous, despite knowing full-well her involvement with these parties whose primary purpose appeared to be prostitution. Nevertheless, she filed a frivalous restraining order against me, despite me having never communicated with her.
Well, the lawfare began to make more sense once I realized her lawyer had a connection to the sex club - and IU Indianapolis - as well.
Adjunct Prof. Mark Nicholson, who has a history of advocating for decriminalizing prostitution, has an account on FetLife with pics inside a sex club I wrote about, and some have reported he may have attended some of the parties whose primary purpose appeared to be prostitution.
Two days after he lost this case, he made a post on his Instagram announcing that any adult entertainers OR MEMBERS OF A SEX CLUB could get a free legal consultation. It seems he was digging for further methods of lawfare.
Veteran journalist and friend @CliffFrenchTV reported on the case as well, which you can find below.
Such a dramatic event made for a fitting climax to my collegiate journalism career. I am happy to say I have moved up and am happily in the workforce. Look out for even better things in the future!