Christopher Rydgig, an Edward Jones Financial Advisor in Maryville, IL, gave an award to Kyle Swanson of KTS Predator Hunters. Feel free to share your disgust at:
Phone: (618) 223-5138
Email: christopher.rydgig@edwardjones.com
https://www.facebook.com/ejadvisorchristopherrydgig/photos/1574139389443146
Mr. Rydgig should vet their award recipients a lot better, because:
1. KTS Predator Hunters is currently being sued by autistic man they tried setting up: As mentioned in yesterday's article, KTS Predator Hunters has been sued, and the group is claiming the lawsuit may cause them to cease operations. (Good.) KTS is trying to raise $7500 for attorney fees but thankfully has only raised $900 on GoFundMe so far. I've reported that campaign so hopefully it will be removed soon.
i'm amazed they weren't taken to task when members of their vigilante page made nasty remarks on the Madison County IL Sheriff's Office Facebook page. As The Telegraph notes,
"The Sheriff’s Department made several postings in response to the incident on its Facebook page, but eventually took them down because of the confrontational nature of the group’s responses, according to Vucich."
2. KTS Predator Hunters has been in a dispute with local law enforcement agencies: The Telegraph reported in August 2020 that "KTS Predator Hunters LLC, has been in a feud with the sheriff’s department since an incident in Alton late last month. Madison County Chief Deputy Sheriff Major Jeff Connor, who also is the commander of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, said he believes the group has good intentions, but are going about it improperly, making it difficult for law enforcement to prosecute. That was echoed by Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons, who said he had met with representatives of the group about 18 months ago, when he told them how they needed to work with local law enforcement... Connor also said that, according to video recorded at the scene, they threatened the man and “took weed” from the man. “We don’t know what they did with it,” said Connor in reference to the alleged marijuana. “We know they didn’t turn it over to the police.” Later in the monthly county judiciary meeting, Gibbons said he had talked to representatives of the KTS group and “explained to them how the methods they were using made it virtually impossible for us to charge somebody.” Gibbons said that when someone is identified as abusing or endangering children “that is when you call 911. “Once you go and arrange a meeting with these people, the investigation is beyond where we will be able to obtain additional evidence,” he said.
3. KTS had been kicked off social media at least once already: Considering how hard it is to get these groups kicked off Facebook, they must have done something quite horrific to have had their previous account deleted.
They are currently at risk for deletion yet again:
It may be partially because KTS also posted siome QAnon propaganda and is friends with the doucherag David Rowe from No Peace For Predators, another QAnon conspiracy crackpot:
4. Most of KTS's "cases" do not lead to arrests or convictions: Even before counties in Missouri outright banned using vigilante group data for arrests, most of KTS Predatror Hunter's "exposes" went absolutely nowhere; even when an arrest was made, cases were later dropped. Similar cases in Illinois, where KTS now operates, were also dropped due to KTS incompetence.
5. KTS Predator Hunters doesn't mind engaging in risky behavior: KTS set up one of their entrapment operations in the parking lot of a grade school, which alarmed local officials. "Collinsville Unit School District 10 officials were disturbed to learn that one of these sting-like operations took place Monday night in the parking lot of Webster Elementary School. The target was a Missouri man who apparently thought he was meeting a 13-year-old girl. Instead, he faced two members of the metro-east group KTS Predator Hunters. They interrogated and reprimanded him for about 10 minutes as video cameras recorded the scene. 'This group had no involvement, agreement or communication with the school district or local law enforcement before, during or after this occurred,' Superintendent Brad Skertich said Thursday. 'They were completely on their own.'"
OK, for those wondering why data from a vigilante group is generally not used in a real criminal case, look up the term "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree." In the case leading to the dispute with the Madison Co IL Sheriff's Dept, The Telegraph noted,
"The alleged incident took place Wednesday in the parking lot of a Walgreens on State Street in Alton, but both county and city law enforcement officials said they received either no or haphazard information prior to the actual incident, and have not been contacted since."
We don't know all of what was said during this conversation. How do we even know proper protocol was followed and the alleged predator is actually intending to meet an underage person? When vigilante groups dick with providing potential evidence, it is unusable.
I'm sure to get plenty of nasty messages from this group for posting this, so I'll be sure to submit this to the attorney for the man suing these losers as well as posting them here.
