More on the consequences of illegal destruction of messages relating to public business sent and received by public officials and employees from 21 WFMJ/WBCB, Youngstown, Ohio.

This is a critical issue across the United States, but few states' attorneys general have given the green light to illegal withholding/destruction of public records.

Kentucky alone has that dubious honor.

"The Minnesota State Patrol purged emails and texts messages immediately after protests over the death of George Floyd last year, according to testimony in a lawsuit that alleges the agency targeted journalists during the unrest.

"Under Minnesota data law, the State Patrol is required to make and keep records of official activity — including text messages and emails, said Don Gemberling, spokesman for the nonprofit Minnesota Coalition on Government Information. They can only delete such messages under a schedule approved by a state records retention panel.

"'The purge was neither accidental, automated, nor routine,' ACLU attorneys wrote in a motion asking the judge to order the State Patrol to stop attacks on journalists covering protests. 'The purge did not happen because of a file destruction or retention policy. No one reviewed the purged communications before they were deleted to determine whether the materials were relevant to this litigation.'"

"'It really does look like the last desperate attempt of somebody to basically undermine public accountability," University of Minnesota open records expert Jane Kirtley observed. 'There are state laws dealing with records retention, and records destruction. This is information that the public has a presumptive right to have.'

"'It doesn't pass the smell test for me.'"