Note: the following expresses the opinions of Stephen Lemons and no one else. The Backpage trial nearly jumped the tracks on Thursday in Phoenix’s federal court after the defense called twice for a mistrial, only to be denied each time…
Ex-Backpage owner Carl Ferrer’s testimony continued in Phoenix’s federal courthouse on Sept. 13, as did the government’s misinformation, half-truths, spin, and bad faith regarding its number one target: veteran newspaperman Michael Lacey, who co-owned the classified listings site Backpage.com from…
We are journalists, editors, artists, and public servants who support veteran newspaperman Michael Lacey in his First Amendment fight with the federal government. On July 31, 2023, Lacey’s longtime business partner, veteran newspaperman James Larkin, died tragically one week before…
Statement from Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin: The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) in Phoenix recently filed nine motions in our case aimed at denying us a fair trial, the most egregious of which asks federal Judge Diane Humetewa to prevent…
Despite more than a decade of research, reports, editorials, magazine articles and even police accounts debunking the odious myth that the Super Bowl is a magnet for sex trafficking, this zombie lie remains catnip to local politicians, police and media…
Getting arrested for not doing much more than standing around may sound like the exclusive purview of repressive regimes like those in China, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Still, standing outside a Chase bank branch in Phoenix, or peacefully watching…
At a Dec. 8th meeting of the Arizona Human Trafficking Council, Gov. Doug Ducey announced a statewide media campaign to bolster a long-discredited urban legend: that large sporting events such as the Super Bowl serve as magnets for the sex…
What social media app drives U.S. politicians to ape the totalitarianism of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)? If you guessed TikTok, pat yourself on the back. The ADD-friendly video-sharing platform, which boasts more than 1 billion monthly active users worldwide…
At the first glimpse of anti-sex work researcher Dominique Roe-Sepowitz on screen, a round of boos erupted from the audience at Tucson’s Screening Room on Friday, where they were watching a preview of director PJ Starr‘s upcoming documentary, Manifesting Monica…
The libertarian, free speech zealots at the Cato Institute have more than once come to the defense of the now-defunct classified listings site, Backpage.com, and its former owners, Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin, who along with four former executives and…
