After breaking a gag order and speaking to Glenn and TheBlaze on Monday, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) filed for Lou Pelletier, the father of 15-year-old Justina Pelletier who is being held against her parents’ will, to be held in contempt of court, a family source told TheBlaze.
“I will tell you that in a meeting I had this morning, I said: I don't care if only four people read the story. I want this to be the lead story on TheBlaze from hereon out.” Glenn said on radio this morning. “Find every reason to talk about it. Turn over every stone. Show me everything that people can do and are doing. Put it in there. I don't care if nobody's reading the story. This is the most important story to me because you have a chance. You have the opportunity to save a woman's life.”
Glenn admitted that when he first heard this story last fall he assumed there had to be another lawyer – something that would help explain why something like this can happen in America. But after reading the thoroughly researched reports from the journalists at TheBlaze and speaking to Lou for several hours this week, Glenn is sure that he and his team have not missed anything.
“I want to talk to you about Justina who is that little girl up in Boston Children's Hospital. She has been transferred and is to be transferred again. She was taken away from her family. The story doesn't make any sense,” Glenn said. “For the longest time, we didn't report on it because we were like, ‘Okay, there's got to be something that we're missing. What is it that we're missing here? There's got to be something.’ No, we're not missing. We talked to her father yesterday, spent two days with him. No, I don't think we're missing anything.”
Because juvenile court records are confidential, a Massachusetts judge placed a gag order on all involved in the appeal process. Justina’s parents, doctors, and caregivers have been unable to talk about the case, but 13 months after this ordeal began, the family has had enough. By speaking out this week, however, Justina’s father, Lou, now faces possible jail time.
“Because he was on this broadcast yesterday and television on Monday, DCF has filed that he be held in contempt of court. He may go to jail for standing up for his daughter. If he doesn't go to jail, the other option is that the state fines him. The family is already broke because he is David, and he's standing up against Goliath,” Glenn explained. “And they have already destroyed this family. Emotionally the State and Boston Children's Hospital have already destroyed this family. He doesn't have any more money left. All he has is his voice, and the state is trying to silence that. I think Lou is willing to go to jail. I know he is. He's willing to go to jail.”
What will happen to this case if Lou does in fact go to jail? Who will speak out on Justina’s behalf? The media has been all but silent in this case, but Glenn made an emotional plea on radio this morning.
“Somebody has to stand in the gap because all they have to do is silence people… I want to come to you and humbly beg for your help,” Glenn pleaded. “This is why they are silencing Lou. If he dries up as a source… then there are no sources. The hospital will just say, ‘Well, the state has custody of her, we can't talk about any kind of patients’… And the state will say, ‘For the good of the child, we can't talk about it anymore.’ Meanwhile, dad will be rotting in jail… and mom won't say anything because mom’s got to be there for her other sick children! And so what will happen? The story will be lost. In this particular case, the press is literally trying to bury the story.”
While Glenn will be doing anything and everything he can think of to raise awareness for Justina and her family, he cannot do it alone. It is important that you share this story any and every way you can. Just an hour into the radio program, #FreeJustina was trending nationally in the United States:
“If they put Lou in jail, if they take what little money he has left away from him, who will stand in the gap? Who will be Justina's voice? I will. But one cannot do it,” Glenn concluded. “You are more powerful than you think you are. Those who are with us far outnumber those who are against us. If we will just all choose to do something good, if we will all see Justina as our daughter, the world changes. They've said horrible things about us – let's show them the good we can do… Go to FreeJustina.com. I am currently calling everybody I know in Washington, which is, I know all of them or they know me but not a lot of them are friendly. I'm calling every civil rights attorney I can think of. Please don't call me and tell me what we can do. Just do it. Twitter. Facebook. Just do it. FreeJustina.com.”
Learn more about how you can get involved HERE.
