Ex-deputy wants help from ACLU

A Polson man who last week had his home searched and computers seized by Lake County Sheriff’s deputies now says he has turned to the American Civil Liberties Union for help.

Former Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Terry Leonard, an outspoken critic of the Sheriff’s Office, said the ACLU is “very interested. Their stance is very similar to my attorney’s stance.”

The ACLU has not decided whether it will become involved in Leonard’s case, however.

The case apparently revolves around Leonard’s website, www.asksheriffluckylarson.com, which criticizes current Lake County Sheriff Lucky Larson and Undersheriff Jay Doyle. Leonard has said that he was fired from his Lake County deputy position “without a reason” in February.

Lake County Attorney Mitch Young said he obtained a warrant from District Judge C.B. McNeil and deputies seized computers and other digital storage devices from Leonard’s home.

Young said Leonard has not been charged and that an investigation is proceeding in regard to possible criminal defamation, a misdemeanor.

The state Commissioner of Political Practices is investigating a complaint against Leonard filed earlier this year by Doyle’s secretary-treasurer Lanny Vanmeter. Vanmeter alleges that Leonard’s Concerned Citizens of Lake County violated state law by not registering as a campaign committee and not filing required financial reports.

Commissioner of Political Practices Dennis Unsworth said the state office was not involved in obtaining the search warrant of Leonard’s home.

Earlier, Unsworth said that to be considered a committee, it would have to be more than one person.

When the state finishes its investigation, it could decide to forward the information to the county attorney for further action, he said. Unsworth said that if the state office finds that a law was violated, it sends the information to the relevant county attorney.

Unsworth said it’s rare for a county attorney to step in ahead of the state office in campaign-related cases.

Leonard said that the officers who came to his home to serve the warrant were “very respectful and courteous.” Although they also discussed taking his phone, they eventually decided not to take it because it was not specifically listed in the search warrant, Leonard said.

Leonard’s website was updated on Monday. On the site, Leonard said that deputies “took all of my computers, including my 7-year-old son’s computer and my wife’s iPad.”

Leonard claims that the search warrant was “served at the request of Lake County Detention Officer Lanny Vanmeter.” Vanmeter denied knowing anything about the search warrant prior to it being served.

Unsworth’s office also is investigating a complaint filed by a St. Ignatius man against Doyle for naming his potential undersheriff in advance of the Nov. 2 election on his Website.

Unsworth said the law in question is ambiguous, but “It’s not an open and shut case.”