NSW police withdraw bid to gag Friendlyjordies over trial of producer and agree to pay costs

NSW constabulary person withdrawn their bid to person YouTuber Jordan Shanks (aka Friendlyjordies) gagged from commentating connected his producer’s transgression prosecution and person agreed to wage $22,000 successful ineligible costs.

The concession connected Friday came moments earlier a magistrate warned she would see issuing a warrant for erstwhile NSW lawman premier John Barilaro’s astir elder staffer for alleged non-compliance with a subpoena.

Police successful June controversially arrested Kristo Langker, a shaper for Jordan Shanks’s Friendlyjordies channel, and charged him with 2 counts of stalking Barilaro.

Langker, 21, has pleaded not guilty, with his lawyers labelling the apprehension “outrageous”.

Shanks, who is besides fending disconnected defamation enactment from Barilaro successful the national court, has doubly posted videos astir the arrest, including aft being served with the constabulary exertion to halt him commenting connected the case.

Police past Wednesday said they were not funny successful the authorities of the videos but were acrophobic witnesses would beryllium influenced earlier giving grounds successful court, oregon would garbage to springiness grounds completely.

Shanks’s lawyer described the gag bid and an associated exertion to find the entertainer successful contempt arsenic “tantamount to an maltreatment of process”.

Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge said the exertion was “broad and vague” and gave NSW constabulary until Friday to redraft its exertion and tally it properly.

Police withdrew the applications astatine the archetypal accidental connected Friday, agreeing to screen Shanks and Langker’s ineligible costs totalling $22,022.

“That’s a tenable decision contiguous and I deliberation that’s due for each sides,” Milledge said.

Lawyers for Langker past told the tribunal the erstwhile main of unit to Barilaro had seemingly failed to comply afloat with a subpoena issued connected her successful precocious September for documents and telephone records.

Siobhan Hamblin, done an email to the tribunal by her lawyers, said she’d been required to instrumentality each devices to the authorities connected Barilaro’s resignation connected 4 October.

The lone documents produced to Sydney’s Downing Centre section tribunal were 4 pages of messages from a WhatsApp relationship inactive nether her control.

“The resignation was astatine slightest four, if not six, days aft [the subpoena was served],” Langker’s barrister, Emmanuel Kerkyasharian, said.

“There was a play of clip wherever she was successful possession of the worldly and required to nutrient it to the court.”

After aggregate attempts to interaction Hamblin’s lawyers to supply a fuller explanation, Milledge agreed to statesman proceedings to contented a warrant for her arrest.

The magistrate suggested she whitethorn motion the warrant but support it successful her bureau until Monday, airing interest Hamblin would beryllium arrested implicit the weekend.

“They whitethorn person sent thing done that hasn’t made its mode to the tribunal file,” she said.

“I cannot recognize wherefore these lawyers aren’t much ... they look to person abandoned her ... they’re surely not moving successful her interests astatine this stage.”

The proceeding continues.