Investigative journalists Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell have some questions about a Spartanburg County Police report… made by none other than Debbie Barbier…
When Greg Parker’s attorney Deborah Barbier told Spartanburg police she’d been “harassed” in a hotel lobby the morning of Mandy’s contempt hearing on June 22, 2026, the department did something our team has never seen done so thoroughly for a harassment complaint made by a woman: it investigated.
Multiple officers. Multiple weeks. Untold public monies. Search warrants signed by magistrate judges with no explanation of what probable cause existed — including a search of Mandy’s Marriott room records and private guest information divulged over the phone. Hours of surveillance footage later, police could not locate the confrontation Barbier described, and the case is now listed as “inactive”.
We’re revisiting what South Carolina’s harassment statute actually says, and ask why protected first amendment activities keep getting recast as crimes… and why behavior matching the statute is disregarded.
Then we relook at McClatchy reporter John Monk’s coverage of Mandy’s contempt proceedings through the prism of his 44 year old son’s federal indictment on child sexual abuse material charges — to which Monk Jr. has pleaded not guilty. We have questions…
Let’s Dive In… 🥽 🦈
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Episode Links
SC Code of Laws – 16-3-1700: Harassment and Stalking ⚖️
Read reactions to John Monk’s articles on Facebook:
John Monk’s Defamatory Article on Mandy’s April 7th Hearing in Gaffney, SC – April 9, 2026
Another Article From John Monk Lobbing Ire At Mandy – April 30, 2026
Monk’s Additionally Defamatory Article On Mandy’s Contempt Proceedings – July 11, 2026
“Former Columbia Teacher Indicted for Attempted Production, Distribution, and Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material” – U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of South Carolina, July 28, 2026 📰
Referenced Episodes: COJ 189 & TSP 12 🎧
Stay Tuned, Stay Pesky and Stay in the Sunlight…☀️
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