"I'M HAVING THE lawyers inquire as to whether or not I can bring a library with me to prison," Michael Lacey said with resignation. The Backpage cofounder and former alt-weekly magnate was standing in the library of his labyrinthine Paradise Valley, Arizona, home. The room abuts one of Lacey's two home offices, each teeming with books, family photos, journalism awards, and file folders-a mix of case files and past work he's been combing through as he works on a book proposal.
It was March 2024, and Lacey was still holding out hope of avoiding federal prison. But prosecutors were eager to send him there, and Lacey recognized that may well be his fate.
I was there with a Reason video crew, interviewing Lacey for a documentary. This was my second visit to Lacey's home. The first, in 2018, was not long after the feds raided the place, and the vibe was different then. Lacey and his longtime friend and business partner James Larkin were pissed but not dejected.
They cracked jokes about their enemies-folks such as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. They told elaborate stories about the heyday of their alt-weekly empire, finishing each other's sentences. They broke out wine from Larkin's vineyard and vowed they would fight this to the end.
Larkin committed suicide a week before the pair's second federal trial was scheduled to start in August 2023.
Bu hikaye Reason magazine dergisinin December 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Reason magazine dergisinin December 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Abolish the NSA and CIA
ENDING THESE UNACCOUNTABLE AGENCIES WOULD SAFEGUARD CIVIL LIBERTIES AND IMPROVE INTELLIGENCE GATHERING.
Abolish ICC
THE AGENCY DISRUPTS COMMUNITIES AND FAMILIES, FOR NO GOOD.
We Still Live in the Physical World
The digital world has not effaced our humanity, no matter what social critics like Christine Rosen say.
Blaming Bill Buckley
IT'S THE CLEANEST, neatnest [sic] operating piece of social machinery I've ever seen. It makes me envious.\" When Rexford Tugwell, an adviser to President Franklin Roosevelt, wrote these words in 1934, he was not referring to the New Deal programs in his purview.
The Backpage Trial Finally Ends-With a Suicide and a Sentencing
UNFAIR ALLEGATIONS OF SEX TRAFFICKING CHILLED FREE SPEECH ONLINE AND RUINED LIVES.
Abolish the National Park Service
PRIVATIZATION CAN MAKE AMERICA'S NATIONAL PARKS MORE ACCESSIBLE AND BETTER MAINTAINED.
Abolish the Fed
IT MAY BE IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE AMERICA WITHOUT THE FEDERAL RESERVE, BUT A CENTRAL BANK IS NOT ESSENTIAL TO A FUNCTIONING ECONOMY.
Abolish the FCC
LET THE INVISIBLE HAND REGULATE THE INVISIBLE RESOURCE.
Abolish the Department of Transportation
IT DOESN'T EVEN BUILD THE ROADS. IT JUST INCREASES COSTS.
Abolish Borders
LINES DRAWN BY GOVERNMENTS DON’T HAVE MORAL MAGIC.
