Time Line of the Events
March 16th, 2018: a threat was made on a website called Hate and Flame. This website required no login, no email verification, and pretending to be someone was the status quo. The post stated :
“FUCK YOU YOU STALKING MOTHER FUCKERS. I’LL SHOW WHO WHO IS AUSTIC. I’LL GO TO FUCKING MEMORIAL ELEMENTRY SCHOOL AND MAKE SANDY HOOK LOOK LIKE A SUNDAY SCHOOL PICNIC”
The post was written by Todd Daugherty N9OGL AT 9:25 PM GMT. (4:25 PM CST) A few minutes later after the post the FBI received a tip through it’s tip line from an individual named “Mark” who claimed to be in the United States but who’s IP claimed to be out of Paris France. This is because the individual “Mark” was using a TOR node. In his tip he stated:
"I don't know if this is real or not but this guy is crazy with numerous arrests (Todd Daugherty) but he just posted to a message board. 'FUCK YOU YOU STALKING MOTHER FUCKERS. I'LL SHOW YOU WHO IS AUSTIC. I'LL GO TO FUCKING MEMORIAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND MAKE SANDY HOOK LOOK LIKE A SUNDAY SCHOOL PICNIC."
Along with the tip, he sent two images of Todd Daugherty holding a hand gun pointing at a camera. An image that was from a blog that was removed back in 2008. Those images were stolen from Mr. Daugherty website and are being used for nefarious purposes. The informant “Mark” was not investigated and his tip wasn’t corroborated.
March 17th the police arrested me without an investigation and without corroborating the tip. The police even stated to the FBI that they were going to arrest me because Illinois had a “zero tolerance” policy regarding threats even if the person made the threat or not. They also had the belief that the website Hate and Flame belong to me, which they would later learn that I did not. I was in jail for a month on a 250,000-dollar bond.
March 18th two individuals got a hold of the police, FBI and State Attorney to notify them that more post and threats were being made in my name while I was still in jail. The state asked my public defender at the time Greg Grisby if I was on-line and Greg told them I was in jail. The state attorney went to the sheriff and asked him if I had access to the Internet and the sheriff said “NO”. The sheriff office even went into the dorm and searched it and found nothing. This showed that the website didn’t require a login and the state probable cause was slowly disappearing.
March 19th The police got a warrant to my Internet service provider Ctitech to get the transmit and receive logs as well as my mac address and my IP.
March 21, 2018, The police got a search warrant to seize all the computers in my house. On the affidavit for the warrant Officer Nelson just repeated up to the time what had happened:
1, Christian Nelson, having first been duly sworn, do hereby state as follows:
That I, Christian Nelson, a Police Officer with the Taylorville Police Department having been a police officer for 1 year. That the facts contained in the application are based on my observation and information, as well as the information and observations of other law enforcement officers; that to the best of my knowledge, the information contained herein is true and correct.
(1). The FBI Springfield office received a tip that Todd E. Daugherty(M/W D.O.B. 07/05/1968) posted on internet social forum Hateandflame.com the following comment "Fuck you you stalking mother fuckers. I'll show you who is 'austic'. I'll go to fucking memorial elementary school and make sandy hook look like a Sunday school picnic.".
(2). Todd E. Daugherty has a HAM radio operator call sign of "N90GL". The post threatening violence against Memorial School was issued by someone with user-name "N90GL".
(3). Todd E. Daugherty has threatened violence against public officials and institutions in the past, including on June 22, 2015, and his profile picture is an image of him holding a 1911 style handgun and pointing it at a camera.
(4). Todd E. Daugherty stated that he was familiar with the website, but stated that he did not make the post. Daugherty claimed that he was being set up by another member of the online community to have his HAM radio license suspended by the FCC.
(5). The post in question from Hateandflame.com was submitted with a picture of T.Daugherty posing with and pointing a firearm at the camera. This picture was identical to T.Daugherty's profile picture that appears with his post. T. Daugherty does not posess a valid IL FOID card.
Officer Nelson left out of his affidavit for a warrant that:
1. The tip they and the FBI had received was never corroborated. Tips must be corroborated (Illinois v Gates US Supreme Court 1985) The tip was NEVER corroborated.
2. They never linked the computers to the threat, this along with fact that the tip wasn’t corroborate meaning they didn’t have probable cause.
3. He also left out that after I was arrested more post and threats were being made in my name, while I sat in a jail cell.
The search warrant itself was also an issue. The search warrant stated:
WHEREAS, the undersigned being satisfied that there is probable cause from facts stated in the attached Affidavit for the offense of felony disorderly conduct.
WE THEREFORE COMMAND YOU TO SEARCH the place or person hereinafter particularly described and to seize the instruments, articles or things described as follows:
TO BE SEARCHED:
The residence of 800 W. MAIN CROSS, TAYLORVILLE IL 62568, a two-story residential home with basement that has red siding. The property contains a separate detached garage with blue siding. It is located at the corner of Main Cross and Morton Streets in Taylorville IL, County of Christian. The home is occupied by Todd E. Daugherty, James Daugherty, and Mary Daugherty.
TO BE SEIZED:
Any and all computers, as defined in 720 ILCS 5/16D-2; any and all magnetic or optical media, including but not limited to hard disk drives, floppy disks, compact discs, DVDs, USB devices, and any and all passwords or other computer security devices, and any and all information and data stored in the form of magnetic or electronic coding on computer media or on media capable of being read by a computer or with the aid of computer equipment, any and all computer software, any and all evidence, data or information pertaining to the possession including but not limited to: any and all evidence of dominion and control over the computer, specifically, but not limited to, a computer possessing MAC address "EC:4F:82:29:B4:03" or IP address "72.9.123.215"; peer to peer file trading software; any and all information pertaining to dates and times of access to the computer; any and all information pertaining to internet searches pertaining to posts regarding threats of violence directed towards schools or public officials; records and other items which evidence ownership or use of computer equipment found in the above residence; including but not limited to sales receipts, bills for internet access and handwritten notes, records evidencing occupancy or ownership of the premises described above including but not limited to utility and telephone bills, mail envelopes or address correspondence. This search warrant shall include authority to analyze and search any magnetic or optical media seized for relevant evidence as outlined in this search warrant, and the property described herein, when found, shall be inventoried and a return of all instruments, articles or things seized shall be made without unnecessary delay.
Due to officer Nelson failure to state they didn’t not corroborate the tip, nor was there a link between Mr. Daugherty’s computers and the threat, and more post where being made. The judge was under the impression that they had probable cause without known the “totality of the circumstances” The warrant itself was also a general search warrant because 1. They never linked the computers to the crime. 2. The warrant doesn’t particularize what they are searching for, instead the warrant seized everything in all fifteen devices. “The Wholesale seizure of every piece of data in a digital device is unconstitutional” (United States v Winn U.S. So. District Illinois 2015 citing Riley v California 2014 US Supreme Court) The warrant stated the seizure of “Any and all computers, as defined in 720 ILCS 5/16D-2; any and all magnetic or optical media, including but not limited to hard disk drives, floppy disks, compact discs, DVDs, USB devices, and any and all passwords or other computer security devices, and any and all information and data stored in the form of magnetic or electronic coding on computer media or on media capable of being read by a computer or with the aid of computer equipment, any and all computer software, any and all evidence” meaning they seized everything on the computers. So when the FBI was later asked to searched them they were allow full unfettered access to everything in the devices.
March 30th The police sent a search warrant to Hate and Flame the website the threat was posted on The owner and the lawyer for the company Nearly Free Speech Network confirmed that I didn’t make the post, in fact I wasn’t on that site at all. By this time, the police and state knew they no longer had probable cause, and should of went to the judge and told the judge their finding, but did not.
April 4th the police asked the FBI if they could search the computers since they were unable to handle cyber-crimes. Again the police and state knew they no longer had probable cause
April 11th, 2018 The FBI drove to Taylorville to take the 15 computers to be searched. The FBI took the 15 devices and placed them into storage.
April 16th the charges were dropped, and the search warrant was quashed. The motion to dismiss stated:
Now Comes the People of the State of Illinois, by and through their attorney, Michael M. Havera, and asks this Court to grant his Motion To Dismiss this case without prejudice stating as follows:
The Defendant was arrested on March 17, 2018.
1. That during the course of this investigation law enforcement has discovered that the web site used to disseminate the threat did not require any login credentials and allows anyone to post a message and sign it as a false author.
2. That after the defendant's arrest there were more messages posted on the same web site claiming to be from Todd Daugherty which is impossible due to the fact that he was incarcerated.
3. That it is known that other fictitious posts have been recently made on the same site claiming to be authored by judges, the president, and other such individuals.
4. That search warrants have been obtained and executed in this case to analyze Todd Daugherty's internet activity and have shown nothing to implicate him in this case at this time.
5. That the local, state, and Federal Bureau of Investigations are continuing the investigation into the source of the threats in this matter.
WHEREFORE, the State moves this Honorable Court to dismiss this case without prejudice.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michael M. Havera, Christian County State's Attorney
ORDER
FILED
APR 16 2018
Julie J. Mayer Circuit Clerk Christian County
Upon Motion of the Christian County State's Attorney's Office, the charges identified above are hereby dismissed without prejudice to the People of the State of Illinois. Any warrants or summonses previously issued are hereby quashed.
ENTERED:
4/16/18
On April 16th the same day the charges were being dismissed and the warrant quashed Agent O’Sullivan got the devices out of storage to catalog them.
April 23rd, 2018, Special Agent O’Sullivan begins going through them on the invalid state warrant that had been quashed a week earlier. While he was allowed to go through the computer unfettered due to the warrant not particularizing what they were looking for he found a computer-generated image and stopped the search to get a second warrant.
March 2, 2020, Special Agent Anthony Wright of the FBI got a second warrant claiming that they were in the legal possession of the FBI under a state warrant that allow the seizure of every computer. He also claimed that Special agent O'Sullivan found child pornography. Agent Wright didn’t inform the federal judge that the charges were drop and the warrant was quashed because the state had no longer probable cause. He also didn’t tell the judge that O’Sullivan searched the devices without a warrant and the actually image that was found was computer generated. The AUSA (Assistant US Attorney) declined to charge Daugherty and the FBI returned the information back to the state since it was “their case anyway” despite the fact that charges had been dropped three years earlier.
September 14, 2022 Daugherty was arrested again by the state of Illinois for child pornography, under the 2018 quashed search warrant. The state police from information from the FBI claimed the image was an image of a real child, when in fact the image found was computer generated. Daugherty was charge with one count for one image which again was found under a 2018 state search warrant that had been quashed five years prior.
October 13 2022 Officer Dorwart of the Illinois state police testified for probable cause. The issues of the case were never brought up and NOR was there time to discuss the issues. Instead the police and state was given a find of probable cause with out any issues or a look through the complete case allowed. Again their probable cause is based on something they found without a warrant because five years prior the warrant they had was quashed when the charges were dismissed.
November 22, 2022 A motion for discovery was filed and was released for Daugherty go through. It was there that he noticed the warrant was a general warrant. His family never got a copy of the warrant, and didn’t need to because five year prior the charges were dropped and the warrant was quashed. He also noticed that a number of documents were missing from discovery. In fact his public defender didn’t believe him that the original charges were dismissed and the warrant was quashed, because that document wasn’t in discovery. Other documents including the information from the search warrant for the Hate and Flame website wasn’t in it as well. That document later shows that Daugherty didn’t make the post and wasn’t even on the site. His public defender wouldn’t get that document along with 700 MB of files until the summer of 2024. Daugherty’s files are still limited and hasn’t seen any of the new stuff. Other documents like why the AUSA declined to take the case has yet be been seen. That document could be crucial because it could show that the AUSA knew there were issues with the whole thing, including the fact that they knew the charges had been dropped and the warrant was quashed or that the warrant was a general warrant. The state and the FBI are withholding documents in violation of Brady v Maryland (US Supreme Court 1963)
In January of 2023 Public defender was looking for an expert regarding images
August 30th the state tries to get a “Order of Protection” of discovery
September 21 2023 Daugherty and his lawyer asked for all files including federal files. This again due to files missing from discovery.
October 21st, 2023 State claims all files had been given to defense, One year later (2024) after that claim all the missing files (700MB) were given to defense. The court also reject modification of release, with the public defender not saying a word about any of the issues.
September 10th 2024 Motion to suppress filed and a request for a Frank Hearing.
October 1st 2024 State says it need more time to respond to the motion to suppress
January 7th 2025 State needs more time and is given 30 days to respond, they never did
April 8th 2025 States objects over Motion to Suppress, but still hasn’t file a response. That objection is denied and the Franks hearing for Motion to Suppress to be on June 19th
June 12th 2025 Public defender files motion to withdraw. a week before the motion to suppress. Due to comments her client made a few years earlier, however evidence has been brought up that these comments were never made at all and were made by someone else. Regardless a individual has the right to free speech Mr. Daugherty was pissed off at the amount of time this trial was taking. Daugherty did waiver the speedy trial however, this doesn’t give them a blank check to allow the case to go on forever. The other issue was the Public defenders office was getting emails from a third parties who is not involved in this case but felt to insert themselves into the case, malicious interfering with the case.
June 13th 2025 Notice of a hearing and Agree motion to vacate and continue.
June 24th 2025 The public defender is allowed vacate and Daugherty is order to get his own private council because he has “money” in the form of a 12,500 dollars bond. Daugherty is only allowed to use 1/2 of it meaning Daugherty will only allowed to use 6,250 dollars, not enough to get a lawyer. After it is gone he screwed.
