MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. — Maricopa County officials have agreed to pay $175,000 to settle litigation filed after a Gateway Pundit writer was denied a press pass last year.
On Wednesday, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted to approve paying a settlement to TGP Communications after one of the company's writers was denied credentials to attend the county's press conferences during the 2022 election.
Records show the county restricted access to Jordan Conradson because they do not consider the Pundit writer to be "a bona fide correspondent of repute in your profession."
A county official further testified that Conradson's previous stories had allegedly led to threats against county officials and employees.
Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone said his agency investigated threats made against elected officials following the contentious results of Arizona's 2022 general election.
After the denial, TGP and Conradson filed a complaint in court accusing Maricopa County of violating their First Amendment rights.
The courts found that TGP had raised some valid questions about the county's attempts to regulate the practice of journalism.
"The Court agrees that this proposition is problematic insofar as it invites the government to play a role in policing the free press, whose constitutionally protected function is to hold the government to account," the federal judge wrote in a ruling.
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