MAY 9, 2023:
A magistrate judge in Stanley County has approved a suspended imposition of sentence for a former Pierre-based political reporter charged with a Class 2 Misdemeanor after using a website to make a prank phone call appear as through it was coming from South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s personal cell phone.
26 year old Austin Goss of Fort Pierre appeared today (May 9, 2023) with his attorney, Jason Glodt, to enter a plea agreement on the charge of Disorderly Conduct. Goss had originally been charged with Making Threatening, Harassing or Misleading Contacts, which is a Class 1 Misdemeanor.
The January 22, 2023, call was sent to former state Republican Party Chairman Dan Lederman. Glodt and Goss both said in court that Goss’ intent was not to harm anyone and at the time, Goss thought it was a funny joke among friends.
During court, Stanley County State’s Attorney Tom Maher said he supported a lenient sentence, but also said the impact of Goss’ actions on others should also be considered. Maher said they weren’t in court because of a prank phone call. They were in court because Goss sent a communication while representing himself as someone else.
Judge Tara Adamski suspended a 30 day jail sentence providing Goss be a law abiding citizen for one year and send apology letters to both Lederman and Noem. She also ordered Goss to pay a $500 fine and $78.50 in court costs. The suspended imposition of the sentence means the charge will not be on Goss’ permanent record, as long as he successfully completes all of these requirements.
In an emailed statement after court, Glodt said, “I believe it is unfortunate he was charged in the first place, but appreciate the willingness of the State’s Attorney to reduce the charge.” It also says Goss “has reached out directly to the Governor and the recipient of the call.”
After the situation came to light last week (May 4, 2023), Goss’ former employers, Dakota News Now and KOTA Territory, issued a statement on their website saying Goss was no longer an employee.
“We learned of the incident involving Austin Goss late last night [May 3, 2023]. Once we gathered the facts, we decided to terminate his employment with our stations. Dakota News Now and KOTA Territory were unaware of Mr. Goss’ activities and deeply regret the lack of judgment he showed, which violated our policies and is contrary to our commitment to the highest standards of journalistic integrity.”
Authorities traced the January 22, 2023, call through Midcontinent Communications to Goss’ Fort Pierre address. That’s the same day Noem’s office issued a news release revealing her personal cell phone had been “hacked” and urging “both the United States Attorney General and multiple congressional committees to investigate the leaking of my family’s personal information.”
MAY 5, 2023:
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A broadcast reporter has been charged with making a prank phone call using South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s personal cellphone number.
Stanley County Sheriff Brad Rathbun said Austin Goss, who has been fired from his job as the capitol bureau reporter for Dakota News Now, surrendered Thursday (May 4, 2023) and was released on a personal recognizance bond.
The misdemeanor count of making threatening, harassing, or misleading contacts carries a maximum penalty of one year’s imprisonment and $2,000 in fines.
Online court documents indicate that he is representing himself, and he didn’t immediately respond to text or voicemail messages from The Associated Press seeking comment. Noem’s spokesman, Ian Fury, declined to comment.
Dakota News Now and KOTA Territory News said in a joint statement that they had terminated Goss’ employment with the stations, saying they were “unaware of Mr. Goss’ activities and deeply regret the lack of judgment he showed.”
The recipient of the “harassing phone call” was identified in the probable cause statement only as a 50-year-old with the initials D.L., The Argus Leader reported. But Dan Lederman, the former chair of the South Dakota Republican Party, confirmed to the paper that he was the one who was called on Jan. 22.
He had no further comment, but a special agent with the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation wrote in the statement that the call came from a website called PrankDial, which was able to make it appear as though it was coming from Noem’s cellphone.
In the pre-recorded call, a mafia member angrily accuses the recipient of stealing boxes of vaccines, including lines like “You telling me you didn’t tell Vito that you were gonna try to move the three boxes of that AstraZeneca outside this family?” The call ends “You’ve just been pranked by PrankDial.com.”
Lederman told the investigator that Goss would “occasionally text him snide or rude remarks,” and said the audio recording “caused him concern for his safety.”
Noem announced one day after the call was made that she was urging the U.S. Attorney General and multiple congressional committees to investigate the leaking of her family’s personal information, including her personal cellphone number.
The previous week, she demanded that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate why her family’s social security numbers were leaked when Congress released its findings in the Jan. 6 investigation.
Officials with the U.S. Attorney General’s officer didn’t immediately respond to messages from the Argus Leader or the AP about the new development.
MAY 4, 2023:
Former Dakota News Now and KOTA Pierre-based political reporter Austin Goss has been charged with Making Threatening, Harassing, or Misleading Contacts after using a website to make a prank phone call appear as through it was coming from South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s personal cell phone.
26 year old Austin Goss of Fort Pierre appeared in Stanley County court yesterday (May 4, 2023).
Dakota News Now and KOTA issued a statement on their website saying Goss was no longer an employee.
“We learned of the incident involving Austin Goss late last night [May 3, 2023]. Once we gathered the facts, we decided to terminate his employment with our stations. Dakota News Now and KOTA Territory were unaware of Mr. Goss’ activities and deeply regret the lack of judgment he showed, which violated our policies and is contrary to our commitment to the highest standards of journalistic integrity.”
Court documents show the lawsuit was filed by “DL,” which former South Dakota Republican Party chairman Dan Lederman has confirmed is him.
Authorities traced the January 22, 2023, call through Midcontinent Communications to Goss’ Fort Pierre address. That’s the same day Noem’s office issued a news release revealing her personal cell phone had been “hacked” and urging “both the United States Attorney General and multiple congressional committees to investigate the leaking of my family’s personal information.”
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