Maddi O’Neill
@maddioneill.bsky.social
Freelance criminal justice reporter in Baltimore. Yes, I can find that court record for you. Hire me: madeleineoneill.com
Pinned
Maddi O’Neill
@maddioneill.bsky.social
· Nov 16
Please tell me who to add to this turns out I’m terrible at it go.bsky.app/RGHzbse
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
Hello! Feeling so much gratitude this week for local news 🗞️🥰
We are off for the holiday but the letter will return next Sunday!
As always, don’t be shy. Pitch us your great investigations!!
Email [email protected]
The note can be this simple: Hi! For your consideration [link]
— So-and-So
We are off for the holiday but the letter will return next Sunday!
As always, don’t be shy. Pitch us your great investigations!!
Email [email protected]
The note can be this simple: Hi! For your consideration [link]
— So-and-So
November 26, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Hello! Feeling so much gratitude this week for local news 🗞️🥰
We are off for the holiday but the letter will return next Sunday!
As always, don’t be shy. Pitch us your great investigations!!
Email [email protected]
The note can be this simple: Hi! For your consideration [link]
— So-and-So
We are off for the holiday but the letter will return next Sunday!
As always, don’t be shy. Pitch us your great investigations!!
Email [email protected]
The note can be this simple: Hi! For your consideration [link]
— So-and-So
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
this rules man, up the @pghguild.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:33 PM
this rules man, up the @pghguild.com
Thank you @localmatters.bsky.social! Subscribe to their incredible newsletter here: linktr.ee/lmattersnews
November 23, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Thank you @localmatters.bsky.social! Subscribe to their incredible newsletter here: linktr.ee/lmattersnews
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
When news media share Homeland Security's version of incidents during immigration enforcement, they need to remind the public that the feds have been caught lying repeatedly about what happened.
"Homeland Security, whose accounts of past incidents have often been proven untrue, said today ..."
"Homeland Security, whose accounts of past incidents have often been proven untrue, said today ..."
November 22, 2025 at 3:55 PM
When news media share Homeland Security's version of incidents during immigration enforcement, they need to remind the public that the feds have been caught lying repeatedly about what happened.
"Homeland Security, whose accounts of past incidents have often been proven untrue, said today ..."
"Homeland Security, whose accounts of past incidents have often been proven untrue, said today ..."
My story about Cumberland’s former police chief and his 2015 admission about “filthy“ conversations with a teenager also appeared in the local newspaper today: www.times-news.com/news/local_n...
November 22, 2025 at 2:28 PM
My story about Cumberland’s former police chief and his 2015 admission about “filthy“ conversations with a teenager also appeared in the local newspaper today: www.times-news.com/news/local_n...
Reminder: Two years ago, I wrote about a Baltimore County dad who spent 18 years in prison based on 'shaken baby syndrome' evidence that is now seriously in question. Story: thedailyrecord.com/2023/04/02/2...
This is seismic news. It's hard to overstate how big the implications are for both future prosecutions and wrongful convictions. This NJ decision could reshape how courts across the country treat shaken-baby expert testimony.
news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/n...
news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/n...
NJ Bans ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Evidence in Nationwide First (1)
Criminal prosecutors can’t build murder cases on medical diagnoses that the mere shaking of a baby, without further evidence of trauma, resulted in a child’s death, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled ...
news.bloomberglaw.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Reminder: Two years ago, I wrote about a Baltimore County dad who spent 18 years in prison based on 'shaken baby syndrome' evidence that is now seriously in question. Story: thedailyrecord.com/2023/04/02/2...
From yesterday: A Baltimore woman spray-painted a transgender symbol in a bunch of places around Easton, including outside a local Catholic school. Local police charged her with hate crimes. www.thebanner.com/community/lo...
A transgender symbol painted near an Easton school led to hate crime charges
Sian Radaskiewicz-King pleaded guilty to two property-related misdemeanors and was released after spending more than two months in jail.
www.thebanner.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:45 PM
From yesterday: A Baltimore woman spray-painted a transgender symbol in a bunch of places around Easton, including outside a local Catholic school. Local police charged her with hate crimes. www.thebanner.com/community/lo...
My latest: In 2015, a Cumberland police officer told his boss he'd had "filthy" conversations with a high schooler.
In 2020, Cumberland city leaders made that officer chief of police.
In 2020, Cumberland city leaders made that officer chief of police.
He admitted ‘filthy’ chats with a teen. Cumberland kept it quiet and made him police chief.
He admitted to ‘filthy’ chats with a teen. Cumberland still made him police chief.
New records show a Cumberland, Maryland officer admitted “filthy” messages with a teen before becoming police chief — a case the city kept quiet.
buff.ly
November 21, 2025 at 1:28 PM
My latest: In 2015, a Cumberland police officer told his boss he'd had "filthy" conversations with a high schooler.
In 2020, Cumberland city leaders made that officer chief of police.
In 2020, Cumberland city leaders made that officer chief of police.
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
@maddioneill.bsky.social chased down this story for over a year and the fight she had to put up to get the facts at hand here says a lot.
He admitted ‘filthy’ chats with a teen. Cumberland kept it quiet and made him police chief.
He admitted to ‘filthy’ chats with a teen. Cumberland still made him police chief.
New records show a Cumberland, Maryland officer admitted “filthy” messages with a teen before becoming police chief — a case the city kept quiet.
buff.ly
November 21, 2025 at 1:06 PM
@maddioneill.bsky.social chased down this story for over a year and the fight she had to put up to get the facts at hand here says a lot.
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
New story for @thebaltimorebanner.com: How a transgender symbol spray-painted near an Easton school led to hate crimes charges www.thebanner.com/community/lo...
A transgender symbol painted near an Easton school led to hate crime charges
Sian Radaskiewicz-King pleaded guilty to two property-related misdemeanors and was released after spending more than two months in jail.
www.thebanner.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:51 PM
New story for @thebaltimorebanner.com: How a transgender symbol spray-painted near an Easton school led to hate crimes charges www.thebanner.com/community/lo...
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
Not the biggest takeaway here but it’s clear that ChatGPT is basically eroding critical thinking skills for upper/middle management types
Suncoast Searchlight's four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was inserting hallucinations into drafts. The next day, one of the reporters was fired.
by @andrewdeck.bsky.social
by @andrewdeck.bsky.social
Florida nonprofit news reporters ask board to investigate their editor’s AI use
Suncoast Searchlight’s four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was using AI editing tools and inserting hallucinations into drafts. The next day, one of the reporters was fired.
www.niemanlab.org
November 20, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Not the biggest takeaway here but it’s clear that ChatGPT is basically eroding critical thinking skills for upper/middle management types
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
We’re creating a bunch of managers who have no idea how to edit a Word doc or send an email without help. I’m watching this happen in real time and it’s insane!
November 20, 2025 at 5:37 AM
We’re creating a bunch of managers who have no idea how to edit a Word doc or send an email without help. I’m watching this happen in real time and it’s insane!
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
Astonishing to stop and realize that, at any given moment, bands of masked men armed to the teeth are storming churches and daycares, terrorizing entire communities—and that most of the country's political establishment barely blinks.
November 19, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Astonishing to stop and realize that, at any given moment, bands of masked men armed to the teeth are storming churches and daycares, terrorizing entire communities—and that most of the country's political establishment barely blinks.
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
underrated bit of handwaving in the lizza blog
November 18, 2025 at 4:37 AM
underrated bit of handwaving in the lizza blog
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
Big breaking news 🚨: Baltimore will investigate New York investor group for housing discrimination
Follows @thebaltimorebanner.com special report on investors Ben Eidlisz and Eluzer Gold.
www.thebanner.com/community/lo...
Follows @thebaltimorebanner.com special report on investors Ben Eidlisz and Eluzer Gold.
www.thebanner.com/community/lo...
Baltimore will investigate New York investor group for housing discrimination
City Solicitor Ebony Thompson said the city would use every legal resource at its disposal.
www.thebanner.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Big breaking news 🚨: Baltimore will investigate New York investor group for housing discrimination
Follows @thebaltimorebanner.com special report on investors Ben Eidlisz and Eluzer Gold.
www.thebanner.com/community/lo...
Follows @thebaltimorebanner.com special report on investors Ben Eidlisz and Eluzer Gold.
www.thebanner.com/community/lo...
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
Harvard: “Because Larry Summers asked his close friend, a convicted sex offender and the leader of a vast pedophilia ring, for advice on making sexual advances on a young mentee, we are cutting off all his responsibilities except close contact with undergraduate women.”
November 18, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Harvard: “Because Larry Summers asked his close friend, a convicted sex offender and the leader of a vast pedophilia ring, for advice on making sexual advances on a young mentee, we are cutting off all his responsibilities except close contact with undergraduate women.”
Any article that quotes DHS about ICE operations should mention the many, many times this administration has been caught lying about its immigration enforcement operations.
Just a few examples:
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
Just a few examples:
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
November 18, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Any article that quotes DHS about ICE operations should mention the many, many times this administration has been caught lying about its immigration enforcement operations.
Just a few examples:
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
Just a few examples:
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
Last Thanksgiving, two Dallas Police officers knocked on my door, citing a tip from the FBI national threat operations center that I was beating my girlfriend. The incident report confirms this. Today, I obtained a file from the FBI via FOIA that states the FBI has no record of receiving such a tip.
November 18, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Last Thanksgiving, two Dallas Police officers knocked on my door, citing a tip from the FBI national threat operations center that I was beating my girlfriend. The incident report confirms this. Today, I obtained a file from the FBI via FOIA that states the FBI has no record of receiving such a tip.
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
I love mess but man this whole thing underlines how much it sucks that all the worst journalists somehow end up with flashy high-paying media jobs
November 18, 2025 at 5:15 AM
I love mess but man this whole thing underlines how much it sucks that all the worst journalists somehow end up with flashy high-paying media jobs
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
I can reassure the New York Times that networks of mutual protection, and misogynist retaliation efforts that benefit abusive men at the expense of the young women they prey upon, are very much still intact post-Me Too.
This is nauseating: “As the emails stretch through the years, they show how that protected realm vanished into the mists of time, pulled under by the rising forces of the internet and the #MeToo movement.” A “Gone With the Wind” framing for sexual abuse and harassment.
Seriously, what is wrong with these people?
November 16, 2025 at 2:13 PM
I can reassure the New York Times that networks of mutual protection, and misogynist retaliation efforts that benefit abusive men at the expense of the young women they prey upon, are very much still intact post-Me Too.
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
For two months, the U.S. government has been racial profiling as masked federal agents hunted for immigrants throughout Chicago. They’ve repeatedly snatched up U.S. citizens while traumatizing communities. “I felt like a piece of trash.” Here is our story www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/15/l...
Latino US citizens racially profiled by federal immigration agents in Chicago: ‘I felt like a piece of trash’
The Tribune spoke to U.S. citizens and green card holders who have either been questioned or detained during Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:05 PM
For two months, the U.S. government has been racial profiling as masked federal agents hunted for immigrants throughout Chicago. They’ve repeatedly snatched up U.S. citizens while traumatizing communities. “I felt like a piece of trash.” Here is our story www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/15/l...
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
Just two weeks after the Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition formally separated from Johns Hopkins, the organization has ceased operations due to financial hardship. The org runs a recovery center, homeless shelter, and more:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...
East Baltimore nonprofit closes two weeks after separation with Johns Hopkins
Found in 1994, The Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition offers a plethora of services, including educational programs, emergency shelter and community beautification efforts.
www.thebanner.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Just two weeks after the Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition formally separated from Johns Hopkins, the organization has ceased operations due to financial hardship. The org runs a recovery center, homeless shelter, and more:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
Teen Vogue did some terrific work. Great story here on Teen Vogue and how the Vogue/Conde Nast bosses seem like the "liberal" types who have been eager to use Trump's rise as a pretext to silence progressives/leftists they disagree with. www.cjr.org/feature/the-...
What the closure of Teen Vogue means for journalism.
Condé Nast folded a beloved magazine that treated youth and feminism as political topics, not trends.
www.cjr.org
November 14, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Teen Vogue did some terrific work. Great story here on Teen Vogue and how the Vogue/Conde Nast bosses seem like the "liberal" types who have been eager to use Trump's rise as a pretext to silence progressives/leftists they disagree with. www.cjr.org/feature/the-...
Reposted by Maddi O’Neill
Defund — and I cannot emphasize this enough — the opinion section.
Having been a columnist, I think the actual job is part of the problem.
A column every week means you rarely get dug in enough on any one subject to have background, and it means either adopting a “shallow one/deep one” schedule or always shooting from the hip on hot topics under deadline pressure.
A column every week means you rarely get dug in enough on any one subject to have background, and it means either adopting a “shallow one/deep one” schedule or always shooting from the hip on hot topics under deadline pressure.
November 14, 2025 at 5:28 AM
Defund — and I cannot emphasize this enough — the opinion section.