Blogger Gets Prison For Conspiracy To Film Sen. Thad Cochran’s Ailing Wife

Flanked by law officers, conservative blogger Clayton Thomas Kelly, 28 of Pearl, Miss.,is escorted in Madison, Miss., city court, Thursday, May 22, 2014, for a hearing on allegations that he took photos of Rose Cochr... Flanked by law officers, conservative blogger Clayton Thomas Kelly, 28 of Pearl, Miss.,is escorted in Madison, Miss., city court, Thursday, May 22, 2014, for a hearing on allegations that he took photos of Rose Cochran, the ailing wife of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., without her permission at the nursing home where she's lived for 13 years. Kelly is charged with exploitation, filming without permission and conspiracy. Madison County District Attorney Michael Guest says Mark Mayfield, a member of the board of the Central Mississippi Tea Party, and Richard Sager of Laurel were also arrested as suspects Thursday in the investigation of photos taken of the ailing wife of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

CANTON, Miss. (AP) — A blogger who pleaded guilty in a conspiracy to breaking in to a nursing home and shooting unauthorized video of the ailing wife of a U.S. senator was sentenced Monday to serve more than two years in prison.

Twenty-nine-year-old Clayton Kelly of Pearl, Mississippi, shot the video of Sen. Thad Cochran’s then-wife in 2014.

On Monday, Mississippi Circuit Judge William Chapman gave Kelly the full five-year maximum sentence, but he’ll be in prison for half that time. The rest is on probation.

Images of Rose Cochran, who had dementia, appeared online briefly during a tough Republican primary. Investigators say Kelly was one of several people who conspired to produce the video suggesting Thad Cochran was having an affair.

Cochran’s campaign said he wasn’t involved in an improper relationship.

Rose Cochran died in December. Thad Cochran last month married a longtime aide.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Latest News
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: