SPARTA, MO — A Christian County journalist now harassed by the City of Sparta is speaking out.
Former Mayor Jenni Davis filed a complaint May 22 with Sparta Police, claiming that John Cockroft, (aka “Johnny Rooster”) the publisher of the Christian County Trumpet, harassed her 4 times.
Judge Doug Bacon set a trial date for September 21 in Christian County Court. The City Prosecutor, J Randal Howell, II (What’s up with these first initials, middle name, and the Second stuff? Sounds like pompous lawyers and judges in a John Grisham novel!) eagerly filed the reports and turned them into a huge, hairy harassment deal depicting poor little Mayor Davis being bullied by a big, bad fake journalist.
Ms. Davis even went so far in her testimony Sept. 21 that Mr. Cockroft (yours truly) possibly had an “infatuation” with her.
Gag!
That’s disgusting.
My wife is my type. My wife is sweet and caring.
Ms. Davis told the court she felt uncomfortable and even contacted her buddies on the police department to protect her in public Sparta gatherings in case the big, bad fake journalist should appear and harass her.
Drama, drama, and more drama!
If this mayor had been a man, I wouldn’t have been hearing this at a hearing. Drama Queen, fo sho!
Ok, let’s get the facts straight:
- I have never met Jenni Davis.
- The “harassment” claim is from four separate text messages I sent to Jenni Davis which are openly disclosed in a previous Christian County Trumpet article here. (Click highlighted word to read article.)
- These messages (except the first, which was a straight up apology for apparently offending her) were sent to multiple people on the same days, May 11 and May 15. Davis was NOT NEARLY the only recipient. Dozens of others were included, which included my friends, people I’ve never met, etc.
- None of the Facebook messenger text messages were threatening. All were kind and uplifting. One included a typo that everyone received!
Why she says she felt harasssed
The reason Davis felt harassed, according to her testimony Sept. 21, was because she didn’t know me and didn’t know why I wanted to contact her after she text messaged me April 5, the day after she lost the mayor election, to never contact her again.
I don’t think elected officials should trump the authority of the Constitution, i.e. freedom of the press, freedom of speech.
Why should I not contact someone? I’m not a bully. I’m a journalist. I attempted to foster a good rapport with Ms. Davis. I had never met her. I wanted to know about a situation regarding her authorization of federal money to purchase a building that may be costing the City of Sparta more than it’s worth in upkeep and expenses. I communicate regularly with people. I use encouraging words.
If we all file lawsuits for harassment when someone offends us, intentionally or not, such as a teacher telling a student to stop talking and the student keeps talking, what kind of society is that?
If someone we don’t know writes something we don’t like, do we tell them to never contact us again, and file suit if they do? Especially if the person filing is an elected official filing against a journalist trying to establish a connection for open dialogue?
I’m the real deal
I am a real journalist. I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from Evangel College in Springfield, MO in May, 1988. I worked for the Christian County Headliner News as a reporter and later news editor (Ozark, MO); the Buffalo Reflex (Buffalo, MO) and Constitution-Tribune (Chillicothe, MO) as a reporter and later city editor. In addition, I worked as a freelance writer for Niche Publications, a subsidiary of the Springfield News-Leader, and as a full-time staff writer for the Pentecostal Evangel, a news magazine of the Assemblies of God headquarters in Springfield, which published 400,000 copies per week with a worldwide distribution. I also worked for the Branson Daily News as a reporter. My full-time professional writing career concluded in 2007. I went into sales and now publish the Christian County Trumpet, a source for alternative news (and some satire) for local voters and taxpayers that they won’t get in mainstream news.
I don’t get paid to do the blog; I’ve been criticized and feared by many public officials who aren’t comfortable with their shenanigans being exposed.
Because Davis didn’t know me, she assumed I was a crackpot stalker. Now, because the city prosecutor, the Sparta police, and Davis are all buddies, the good ol’ boy network has a big strike against me because I’m not in their clique!
Now, if you look up John Wesley Cockroft on case.net, a website for Missouri legal cases, you’ll find a GUILTY verdict four times next to my name related to Harassment and the City of Sparta.
Sounds creepy. Sounds evil, even. It’s disgusting how someone with an elected position uses power and influence and association to belittle and harass a qualified journalist.
We need to stand up for freedom of the press. We need to stand up for individual first amendment rights.
And men need a defense against women who try to muzzle them with false allegations and interpret their intentions faslely.
This isn’t over. I’m still in the fight. I’m going to appeal, if necessary. We need constitutional judges who care about our freedoms, not a clique that makes up it’s mind before the hearing even starts.
Stand strong, patriots. My legal fees are piling up. I’ll need your encouragement and support as I fight for ALL of our rights and freedoms. Feel free to reach out to me on Facebook under Johnny Rooster, or e-mail ChristianCountyTrumpet@gmail.com.
This is happening all over the country!
Here are some more alarming misuses and abuses of government from YouTube:
Long Island Audit is alarming interactions recorded by SeanPaul Reyes with government officials in multiple locations. Click here for more!
Screen shots of the “harassing texts” I sent Ms. Davis
