News/analysis: No apologies, Ashli Ford
You're on probation, start acting like it
MILAN —
I’m bone-weary tired of Ashli Ford. I was tired of her five years ago.
Every time there’s another Ashli Ford story on the Substack, you see comments like, “Is he obsessed with her?” or “Give it a rest, already.” It’s like picking at a scab. I get it. I wish I could give it a rest. But I can’t.
Ford threatened four Norwalk city officials. She publicly accused them of heinous crimes and said she would lead them to their demise. Her supporters continue targeting her victims on social media. She’s falsely accused others, including a man desperately trying to find his missing son. The list of allegations is long, the proof nonexistent.
Whether it’s her probation sentence on Aug. 18, a pre-trial next week on forgery and mortgage fraud charges, or her pending appeal arguing her speech is protected, it’s all news. My job is to report it — that I’m obsessed with.
Ford has developed a formula for attention, one prosecutors and others say includes extortion, falsification, harassment, and threats, all to monetize her social media platform. She was also indicted in July on alleged forgery and mortgage fraud that predates her podcasting career.
Until she stops doing this, there will be stories about Ashli Ford. When she stops, I’ll stop writing.
Ford has never been shy about taking credit when high-profile criminal cases hit the news. The latest example: the long-simmering allegations of sexual harassment, assaults, and torment of girl students in the Huron school district — a six-year-old case now resurfacing in federal court. A case with true heroes and true villains.
Ford, however, wants the spotlight. On Aug. 19, she posted a highlighted excerpt from the lawsuit that included her name. “Let’s call this another win for the good guys!” she wrote.
As usual, her post was quickly re-shared by admirers, one gushing: “Speaking out against this kind of abuse is never easy, and it took incredible strength for her to do it.”
Let’s be clear: it does not take “incredible strength” to sit in front of a webcam reading police reports and critiquing legal proceedings she neither understands nor contextualizes. Real strength is what three young women — now about 19 — have already shown: confronting a culture of abuse, naming their tormentors, and exposing years of neglect.
Those are the heroes. Not Ashli Ford.
The lawsuit isn’t “another win for the good guys,” as Ford suggests. It’s another chance for her to draw attention to herself, like a moth circling a light — or a vampire chasing its next fix.
Meanwhile, the young women carry the real weight. They came forward beginning in middle school, six years ago. They risked retaliation, endured cross-examination and skepticism, and stood up when adults failed them. That is courage. That is accountability.
Ford and her followers peddle the idea she’s a truth-teller. One commenter wrote, “If anything, people should be thanking Ashli for having the strength to bring the truth to light when so many others stayed silent.”
Nonsense.
The truth is being brought to light by those who lived through the abuse, and by the attorneys, investigators, and families who stood beside them.
Shut up, Ashli, and get a job.
Credit belongs to the survivors.
This news/analysis represents the opinions of the author.