Olympic Herald Facing Legal Attack From Judge Basden’s Associate

My late grandfather, Tom Hennessy, was an award-winning journalist whose career spanned decades. After reporting for the Detroit Free Press in the 1970s, he joined the Long Beach Press-Telegram in 1980, where he served as a defining voice for the city for nearly thirty years.

Tom was never afraid to tackle controversial issues, consistently holding the powerful accountable regardless of their political standing or local influence.

His impact was best summarized by United States Congressman and former Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, who called him, “a Long Beach institution, not just well-known in the newspaper world, but in the entire community through all the work he did.”

Inspired by that same commitment to transparency, I officially launched the Olympic Herald this past January. Built on years of obtaining public records, analyzing court documents, and observing legal proceedings firsthand, the Herald continues the tradition of asking hard questions and uncovering the truth in our local system.

Brian Parker Coverage

In my first article, I dug into former Clallam County Court Commissioner Brian Parker. I detailed how Parker was arrested by the Everett Police Department for felony perjury related to a Snohomish County custody case and accused of stalking a woman at her Port Angeles workplace.

Subsequent coverage revealed allegations that Parker spit on a resident near the courthouse and that Judge Brent Basden rushed his appointment while removing standard employment safeguards.

Ultimately, following our investigations and community outrage, the Superior Court announced on February 10, 2026, that Parker was no longer employed.

The foundation for this reporting started months earlier, when I submitted public record requests in September 2024 regarding the county’s court commissioner hiring practices.

I had first became interested after observing case management inefficiencies under then-Commissioner Elizabeth Stanley, who is now the Assistant Presiding Judge.

It was my request for records related to Stanley’s hiring that ultimately opened the door to scrutinizing the heavily flawed process that placed Parker on the bench.

Yet my understanding of Parker goes beyond public records. I experienced his courtroom firsthand in 2025.

Parker Helped Out Judge Basden’s Associate After Wyoming Arrest

The catalyst for the current legal attacks against the Olympic Herald stems from my investigation into Benjamin Mavy. I reported his alleged wildlife crimes to the Wyoming Department of Game and Fish in 2024.

Using copies of hunting and fishing licenses obtained through Public Records Act requests in 2023, I provided law enforcement with evidence that Mavy had made false sworn statements for the purpose of obtaining hunting licenses.

According to Wyoming court records, Mavy was arrested 13 months later in Lincoln County, Wyoming. He was charged with making a False Statement to Procure an Elk License.

Eight days later, in direct response to my reporting, Mavy initiated a civil protection order action against me on August 7, 2025 in Clallam County. Former Commissioner Brian Parker presided over the oral hearings in the case, and Judge Basden was the assigned judge.

Poor Temperament Parker

During the first hearing, Parker demonstrated hostility and repeatedly questioned why I had reported Benjamin Mavy to the Wyoming Department of Fish and Game.

When I asserted my constitutional right to petition a law enforcement agency and report someone for violating the law, Parker angrily retorted, “You don’t have a right to use the legal process to harass him,” and later accused me of “dancing around” his questions.

This encounter led me to dig deeper into Parker’s background. I discovered federal lawsuits involving Parker through PACER.

Through the federal filings, I found a police report, which stated that Parker had been arrested for perjury by the Everett Police Department. It was a glaring conflict of interest that Parker, arrested for making false statements, focused his hostility on my constitutionally protected act of reporting Mavy for similar crimes of dishonesty.

I ultimately filed an affidavit of prejudice, but Parker failed to recuse himself.

Protecting Friends in High Places

The reality of my case before Parker was that it was centered on protecting Benjamin Mavy, a member of Judge Basden’s LDS Port Angeles Stake. Ultimately, Judge Basden affirmed every order issued by Parker. This legal maneuver raises constitutional and free speech issues, effectively using the judicial system to silence protected reporting.

Now, Mavy has escalated these efforts to directly suppress the press by filing a motion which explicitly targets the Olympic Herald, arguing that the Olympic Herald articles mentioning Judge Basden constitutes stalking and harassment.

He takes particular issue with my February 2, 2026 article, which reported on a protest in front of the courthouse, where protestors demanded the removal of former Commissioner Brian Parker and resignation of Judge Basden.

He also demands the court order me to remove my article written about Josiah Hill.

To silence this coverage, Mavy is petitioning the court for severe punitive measures, including a request to impose a coercive fine of up to $2,000 per day against me until the articles are removed.

Furthermore, he is demanding that I file a sworn certification to cease publication of articles involving Judge Basden.

A Familiar Battle

This legal fight feels deeply familiar, mirroring the battles fought by my grandfather, Tom Hennessy, who was also illegally restrained by a judge in the 1960s.

At the time, Tom had started an alternative weekly newspaper called the Pittsburgh Forum. The night before his paper was scheduled to publish a story exposing local corruption, Judge Wentley of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas issued an order blocking Tom’s paper from printing a report that linked the vast business interests of the city’s Mellon family to the financial deterioration of the University of Pittsburgh in the mid-1960s.

Judge Wentley’s order was an illegal prior restraint on constitutionally protected activity. Today, the Olympic Herald faces a chillingly similar threat. Just as Judge Wentley attempted to silence the Pittsburgh Forum to protect the Mellon family, Benjamin Mavy is attempting to leverage a protection order to censor my reporting on his actions and his connections to Judge Basden’s LDS Port Angeles Stake.

By demanding that the court fine me up to $2,000 a day, force the removal of already published articles, and explicitly ban future reporting, Mavy is asking the court to execute an unconstitutional prior restraint under the guise of an anti-harassment order.

It is an aggressive tactic designed to bypass the First Amendment, shut down protected speech, and punish the press for bringing these uncomfortable truths to light.

It also mirrors a similar legal tactic used by Basden and Port Angeles attorney Lane Wolfley, in an attempt to exile a single mother from the state of Washington, because Wolfley was caught committing adultery and “hated her.”

The Fight for Free Speech in the Court of Appeals

To combat this judicial overreach, the original protection order is actively being challenged. I officially appealed the order on October 21, 2025. The case is currently under review by the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division Two.

Kitsap County Will Decide Motion To Order Removal of Basden Articles

After months of presiding over a case riddled with glaring conflicts of interest, Judge Basden finally filed an official notice of recusal on February 23, 2026.

The matter was initially reassigned to Judge Simon Barnhart. However, just days later on March 4, 2026, Judge Barnhart also recused himself from any consideration of the case.

With Judge Elizabeth Stanley already disqualified from the matter by statutory right, the Clallam County bench has essentially stepped away, prompting the assignment of a visiting judge from Kitsap County to take over the trial court proceedings.

The motion to remove the Basden and Josiah Hill articles is not currently scheduled for a hearing.

Unwavering Commitment to the Truth

The current legal threats aimed at silencing this publication are exactly why I founded the Olympic Herald earlier this year.

I started the Olympic Herald to pursue a different type of journalism in Washington state. My goal is to provide fearless, independent investigative journalism that holds power accountable, from the local courthouse to the state capital.

My loyalty belongs strictly to the citizens of Washington.

When my grandfather, Tom Hennessy, faced an illegal restraint against his newspaper in the 1960s, he stood his ground, stating that denying publication was a denial of the freedom of the press provisions of the First Amendment. I intend to carry on that legacy.

This legal fight is nothing more than an aggressive attempt to punish the press and bury the truth, but I will not be intimidated into silence.

As a closing note, I always intend to make everything I write available for free, to all subscribers. However, fighting these unconstitutional legal maneuvers requires resources. To help fund this legal fight and protect free speech, please consider making a donation of any amount to my GoFundMe or upgrade to a paid subscription.