Joanne Soroka sends death threat
Bridge of Flowers committee member emails John: "Keep hitting me and I will not hesitate. You don't know who you are fucking with… You are dead to me. Only when you call my name out, will I reawaken and I promise it will get ugly." John reports to Gilmore in 2020. Police take no action. Soroka later has a studio two doors down from John at The Mill.
Iron Bridge — the origin
John films unannounced pandemic street closure near his studio. Sonny Walters approaches despite 3-4 requests to leave. Katherine within 12 inches, fists clenched, screaming. Group pins John against east railing. All of this happens before any recording begins. At 10:41 AM Alouette hits Facebook Live — capturing only John's visible agitation, none of the preceding assault. 20,000 views, 300+ comments: grand wizard, Nazi, throw him off the bridge, throw his camera in the water (Victoria Rolon — prophetic by 5 years).
Change.org removes petition — Recorder stays silent
Bianca's petition (600 signatures, calling John racist) removed by Change.org for defamation and misinformation violations. The Recorder never reports why — only that it "had been removed." The false foundation of the campaign is never corrected for the people who signed it.
Recorder publishes two front-page hit pieces
Mary Byrne writes articles amplifying the petition narrative. John never contacted for comment. BOF Chair Annette Szpila tells the paper the committee wants to "honor the anti-racism spirit of the petition." Anti-racism plaque installed three feet from the Black Stones of Africa fountain John had commissioned nine years earlier. Kay Baronson — Recorder co-founder — leads secret Zoom meetings coordinating John's professional removal.
"Take you down" — figure of speech weaponized
John is in conversation with protest leader Joey Kotright when Alouette drives through, stops, delivers sarcastic "Hi John." John says "I'm gonna take you down" — meaning get the video taken down. Kotright moves to the double yellow lines, screams "Fuck you, John Sendelbach, and everyone who's with you" with both middle fingers raised, in front of 40–50 witnesses including Sergeant Gilmore. This is later twisted by Hennessey into a "death threat."
Katherine calls John a KKK member — on tape
On their own audio at timestamp 3:09: Katherine says "I don't talk to KKK members either, but here we are" — directed at John. Alouette at 5:47: "You ever hear of racist bigots — oh wait, you are one." These statements are later inverted in sworn affidavit and attributed to John. The perjury has a documented origin on their own recording. Katherine also gives John the middle finger unprovoked from her car — admits it the same day.
Gilmore's Permission Structure email — documented in writing
Brook: "Quit your white whining." Alouette closes to 24 inches threatening a restraining order. Katherine: "Yeah, I hate you. Really do." Same day, Gilmore emails Katherine: "I've talked to John. It doesn't work." Written permission for the next three years of false reports. Documented in his own official incident report 21-133-OF in July 2021: "I told Hennessey that I was not going to call Sendelbach because it hasn't worked in the past."
State Street landlord — first studio lost
John's nine-year State Street studio landlord — a friend — asks him to leave due to harassment from the Hennessey campaign. John agrees to protect the friendship. CIA commission pipeline severed. First studio lost to Hennessey's interference. This is the beginning of the residential and economic destabilization pattern — three studios total will be affected.
Wrisley arrested — child pornography; Hicks implicated
Part-time Buckland officer Jacob Wrisley arrested for filming naked 8-year-old and possessing child images. Chief James Hicks oversees him. Pattern of institutional protection of misconduct established. Hicks later admits to indecent assault himself (2023). Both trained the current department. Wrisley sentenced 4–5 years state prison.
Judge Mazanec catches Katherine lying — first judicial finding
Katherine swears under oath she did not lock elbows or block John's path. Judge Mazanec reviews video and watches her do exactly that in real time. Order vacated. First documented judicial rejection of her sworn statements. Zero perjury referral made — creating the first de facto license to lie.
Brook punches John — first physical violence, unreported
Outside Keystone Market, John approaches Brook's car window about Alouette's "far too many white people" post. Brook punches John in the stomach — weak contact, no injury. John does not report it, unaware reports are being filed against him. This establishes Brook's physical violence predates November 30, 2025 by approximately three years.
Criminal harassment report — no interview, eight lies compiled
Pettengill and Jenkins go directly to Hennessey. Eight reports compiled into criminal harassment charge. Neither has ever met John. John never interviewed before any of the eight reports. Jenkins co-signs. HPO granted ex parte. Gilmore serves it, tells John "I don't care" when John protests his innocence. First official contact the department initiates with John in three years of complaints.
Judge Mazanec vacates HPO — audio destroys "homicidal threat" claim
John plays audio of the parking lot encounter. His actual words: "I will never get along with the likes of you." Katherine was laughing throughout. Her "homicidal" characterization collapses on first evidence review. Second judicial finding against her credibility. Zero perjury referral.
Show cause hearing — no probable cause after one hour of evidence
Jenkins presents Hennessey's eight reports verbatim, having never met John. John presents approximately one hour of video and audio evidence. Clerk magistrate reviews and finds No Probable Cause. Jenkins sat through the entire presentation watching John prove Hennessey had lied repeatedly. Takes no corrective action. Makes no perjury referral. This is the hour of evidence that Bardwell later claims to trust his officers about.
Road detour — 1,000 passes, zero incidents
Conway Street construction routes John's daily travel past School Street intersection — within six houses of Hennessey's home — 2–3 times daily for the entire detour period. Approximately 1,000 passes. John never turns down School Street. Never drives past her house. Never makes contact. This is the factual destruction of her "follows all the time" claim. Documented non-pursuit at massive scale.
Defamatory Walker letters — eviction demand, prediction of violence
Two letters sent to landlord Brad Walker three days apart. Letter 1 claims YouTube "community violations" — provably false, YouTube never removed the videos. Letter 2 upgrades lie to "hate speech" — different category, proving fabrication. Both demand eviction. Letter 1 explicitly states: "it's really only a matter of time before someone gets hurt." Walker refuses eviction, offers funded mediation. Hennessey declines. Jenkins receives the letters, doesn't read them for 12 days, takes no action.
Alouette enters John's workspace — AFib triggered
First time seeing Alouette in three years. Within 20 seconds AFib triggers. Episode lasts one month. She calls police claiming harassment. Gilmore responds, finds not even a hint of harassment. Alouette tells Brook; Brook independently calls police. Officers arrive at John's door 20 minutes later. Two days later the Walker letters arrive.
Mlynick v. Town of Erving filed — federal court
Separate plaintiff sues Jenkins, Bardwell, Erving et al. for false arrest in dog dispute — same pattern: ignoring civil contract, manufacturing probable cause, never interviewing the subject. Filed before Judge Mastroianni in U.S. District Court. Erving Sergeant Paicos is co-defendant — previously fired by State Police for wrong-way driving, arrested for DUI in 2018, formally cited for "Dishonesty" by his own chief. Promoted to Sergeant in 2021 anyway.
Road race — trapped, threatened with arrest, camera blocked
Bardwell's truck physically blocks John's dead-end road. No notification given. John confronts race organizer McCusker who is sarcastic and touches John's chest. Bardwell threatens arrest for disorderly 3x. Gilmore physically repositions to block John's camera from filming man calling him an asshole in front of cops. Gilmore shakes that man's hand. All on video. First Amendment violation documented.
Jenkins fired as school resource officer — 25 calls, 67 minutes, deleted texts
Mohawk Trail terminates Jenkins following investigation into relationship with 18-year-old student: 25 phone calls totaling 67 minutes in 30 days, deleted texts, alone with student in car at night. Berkshire DA investigates — finds boundary violations. 218-signature petition for removal. Jenkins declines to be interviewed by DA investigators. Bardwell calls public concern "reckless spreading of reputation-wrecking rumors." Selectboard votes 3-2 to retain him as detective.
Asbestos/ADA email — mass notification, zero response
John sends documented evidence of toxic dust, asbestos, ADA violations at The Mill to all tenants and town officials. Attaches photos and 521 CMR. Notes Walker bought $700k in new real estate while claiming financial hardship for a $15k wheelchair ramp. One-armed friend fell on the "bogus ramp," Walker said "look out for that lip next time." Zero responses from any official or tenant. Pattern: silence as institutional weapon.
Drive-up at girlfriend's house — laughing, waving
Katherine pulls up beside John at his girlfriend's house, stops, smiles and maniacally waves at him before driving away. John follows at over 100 feet — she turns left on Main, he turns right. Zero contact. Immediately after: Bardwell offers recorded interview (too late — everything was already presented at the June 2023 show cause hearing that Jenkins ignored). John declines the redundant exercise.
John's three HPO attempts — all denied
Judge Teran (Mar 17) denies all three — calls everything "petitioning activity" and protected First Amendment. Has not read supplementary affidavit. Judge MacLeod (Mar 20): "In the legislative sense, no." Both deny without referencing 2021 or 2023 judicial findings of not-credible. The structural gap: each judge starts fresh. No compulsory continuity. The judicial permission structure mirrors Gilmore's police permission structure.
Respondents file coordinated HPO petitions — before John's scheduled filings
Katherine files three HPO petitions against John on the exact days before John's own scheduled filings. Insider knowledge of court scheduling suspected. All three denied same day. This pre-emptive counter-filing is the machine's attempt to lock in the victim/aggressor inversion before John can establish the record.
Alouette removes the June 6, 2020 video — five years later, one day after HPO filings
The video that started everything — 20,000 views, 300+ comments, the petition, the Recorder articles, five years of harassment — disappears from Facebook one day after John's HPO filings. John had been asking for it removed since 2020. Consciousness of guilt. Spoliation of evidence. The digital arsonist removes the accelerant when the legal heat finally arrives.
Keystone Market — "I feel unsafe" performance, laughing exit
Katherine follows John into store, positions directly behind him, loud mocking laugh. When John quietly mentions the lawsuit, she screams "I FEEL UNSAFE" at the top of her lungs. Recruits store owner to walk her out. With owner's back turned: full smile at John. Through car window: prolonged middle finger. Drives away cackling, body rocking. Judge Mazanec reviews this footage in slow motion at the December 15 hearing.
John's rowboat posted on Craigslist — anonymous listing
John's rowboat — stored with permission at Tom Young's property next to Floodwater — anonymously listed for sale on Craigslist. Photo appears taken from Floodwater brewery deck. Alouette's band played at Floodwater July 5, sixteen days prior. John emails Bardwell. Bardwell contacts anonymous seller — they remove it. One of Hennessey's prior false reports to the courts had also involved this same boat.
Recorder redesign republishes 2020 defamatory articles as "new"
The Recorder's website redesign lists the June 2020 hit pieces as newly-added archival stories — with fresh publication dates, resetting their search visibility. Articles are now the fifth Google result for John's name. Recorder co-founded by Kay Baronson — the same person who ran the secret 2020 Zoom meetings. The paper that built the founding myth maintains it five years later. Statute of limitations clock resets.
Public records request filed — stonewalled for six months
Comprehensive PRR filed for all records 2018–2025. Bardwell requests 30-day extension plus $2,150 fee. John requests non-fee records. State supervisor grants extension. Bardwell on October 16: "You're not going to get his emails." On video, walking away for coffee. Zero records ever produced. Complete stonewalling of a citizen's lawful access to records about his own case.
Gas station — Bardwell refuses pulse, walks for coffee
John confronts Bardwell in documented active AFib, 180 BPM. Says "Chief, feel my pulse." Bardwell: "I don't want to." Walks into store for coffee. This is on video. Three days later, State Police LIFEPAK 15 documents John's heart rate at 130–230 BPM. Neutral Officer Sheerer is so concerned he insists on calling EMS despite John's objection.
Art installation — frog mask surveillance, 14 minutes
Katherine wears giant papier-mâché frog mask — her own December 1 affidavit confirms worn because she expected John to be there and didn't want to be recognized. Stands 6 feet from John for 14 minutes. Does not leave. Addresses him by name. Calmly says "John, I hope you get the help you need" on departure. Calls police — nothing actionable. Eight days later: the assault. This is not fear. This is monitoring.
Alouette at Mill window — eye contact, laughs
Alouette walks past the Mill fishbowl window six days after the frog mask incident, makes direct eye contact with John, laughs, moves quickly past. Two days before the assault. The family is actively monitoring John's location and movements in the days leading to November 30.
Mass email — lawsuits announced to 70+ recipients
Sent at 6:45 PM to all Shelburne Police, both Select Boards, Recorder, community. Announces lawsuits dropping "this coming week," names Annette Szpila as first defendant. Names Hennessey. Characterizes five-year campaign directly. Zero responses — ever — from any official. 24 hours later: the trespass and assault. The department had the warning in their inbox by 7 PM. Joan Livingston — former Recorder editor, now Select Board member — is a recipient.
Gas station trespass — morning premeditation
Katherine drives fast onto John's rented property at Neighbors to the screened end where his van is parked. Newspaper rack is around the corner — she could not have seen John from a newspaper stop. She had to pull directly onto his rented property. Peace sign → double middle finger → "fuck you" → drives forward → second middle finger → leaves. John calls police within 15 minutes, makes reconstruction video within 5. Gilmore responds, reviews bodycam, walks property line. No charges. Never checks the gas station cameras. Never charges her with trespass.
Floodwater assault — 30+ blows, phone thrown in river
Tom Del Negro exits screaming — primed inside before Brook charges. Brook shoves John 3x off curb, punches 8–12 times from behind. Katherine exits. Bystander pins John's arms. Katherine delivers 10–20 additional blows including strikes dislodging glasses. John does not retaliate. Zachary Livingston retrieves shoe. Katherine seizes lit, recording iPhone, walks 75 feet to Deerfield River, throws it in (still recording). Returns, delivers second battery — kicking and punching from behind. Brook tells Livingston: "You don't understand, John has been after my family for five years." That's the confession.
Hennessey files HPO against John — the morning after assaulting him
While John is without a phone, Katherine files her third HPO petition — now positioning herself as the victim of the man she just beat. Affidavit claims hands "in pockets the whole time" (impossible with two A&B charges), no idea how he ended up in the street (Livingston: Brook admitted the push), she went to pick up his shoe (Livingston picked up the shoe — she picked up the phone). The shoe lie is the structural tell of the phone theft cover story.
Gilmore files summons — minimum required, camera footage missed
Probable cause: Hennessey — A&B x2 + Malicious Destruction of Property ($1,100 iPhone). Batteau — A&B. Livingston's statement forces Gilmore's hand. Report frames John as "agitated" throughout. Does not check gas station cameras, adjacent studio camera. Does not charge morning trespass. Does not pursue bystander who pinned John's arms as aiding and abetting. Bare minimum, filed 10 days after assault.
HPO hearing — "I don't believe you, Miss Hennessey"
Judge Mazanec watches Keystone video in slow motion multiple times. Reviews frog mask video. Hennessey asks if she can sit down — doesn't want to watch the assault video — Mazanec continues. States on the record he does not believe her account. HPO denied with prejudice — rare outcome reflecting bad faith. Third time Mazanec finds her not credible. Zero perjury referrals across all three findings.
Recorder photographs Katherine at Winter HooPla — front page
74 days after Katherine swore under oath she was too terrified to appear in public, the Recorder runs her on the front page at a community event — arms wide, relaxed, fully public. Article does not mention the pending arraignment. The same newspaper that published the founding myth in 2020 is still maintaining the beauty brand narrative. Joan Livingston is on the Select Board. The machine's print infrastructure holds.
Mlynick ruling — Jenkins loses qualified immunity; HPO hearing same day
Judge Mastroianni denies QI for Jenkins and Paicos personally. Discovery ordered. Scheduling conference April 14. Same day in Franklin County: Judge Powers gags John from referencing Mazanec's three prior findings, allows Elkins to ask about videos she doesn't know exist because Hennessey never told her. Elkins asks whether the November 22 frog mask video even exists — it was in affidavits Hennessey herself filed. John shouts "Hell yes." Six-day AFib episode triggered, resolves March 17. Powers rebukes Elkins for overreaching in open court.
CJC complaint filed — four judges named
Formal complaint to Commission on Judicial Conduct naming Mazanec (failure to refer perjury three times), Teran, MacLeod (denials without referencing prior findings), and Powers (failed to read supplementary affidavit, gag order creating double-bind, bailiff shouting into disclosed impaired ear, editorializing from bench, triggering six-day cardiac crisis). The system being audited as formally as it was used against John.
BBO complaint against Elkins; ADA accommodation notice
Formal BBO complaint: Elkins appeared without reading the file, asked about the November 22 video despite it being in Hennessey's own affidavit, recycled adjudicated fictions from 2023, cross-examined a pro se medically vulnerable litigant in active AFib on fabricated events. ADA accommodation request filed for April 7: physical sequestration from defendants, clear communication, cardiac emergency break rights. Court notified that March 12 hearing caused six-day cardiac episode.
Bardwell requests 9.4% merit raise — "fantastic crew"
Chief presents budget increase to Finance Committee. Jenkins has just lost qualified immunity 13 days prior. Department under outside legal compliance consultant ("Becca") because officers "don't know the laws." Special Town Meeting May 1. New "Motor Vehicle Lockout Policy" item added to agenda March 23 — drafted precisely because there is no documented procedure for what to do when a recording phone gets seized from a public street and thrown in a river. LaPierre: "well worth it." Erving Police Department simultaneously loses its entire patrol force and is declared a public safety emergency. Bardwell: "we track pretty well with the county."
Letter to Elkins and DA — videos transmitted, full archive distributed
John sends formal pre-arraignment package to Elkins and ADA Gagne: all key videos (June 6, 28, 29, 2020; March 2023 parking lot; May 2025 Keystone; November 22 frog mask; Sonny Walters clips), the Six Years institutional record, and supporting documents. Hennessey never showed Elkins these videos. Elkins is walking into tomorrow's arraignment with a corrupted dataset. The full 14-document Deerfield River Archive is mailed to Elkins' firm, DA's office, CJC, BBO, and the Recorder. Today.
Arraignment — 8:30 AM, Franklin County District Court
Commonwealth v. Hennessey 2641CR000158: A&B (2 counts) + Malicious Destruction. Commonwealth v. Batteau 2641CR000159: A&B. Both represented by Elkins — potential conflict as defenses may diverge. Brook's confession to Livingston ("been after my family five years") puts him at odds with any bystander defense Katherine might try. The bench John built is still standing on the Bridge of Flowers. The phone is still in the river. The archive is in granite, in stone, in medical records, and in every inbox that received the November 29 email and said nothing.
Mlynick scheduling conference — discovery begins
Jenkins and Paicos defend personally. Depositions of Bardwell, Gilmore, LaPierre under oath. The Permission Structure email, eight uninvestigated reports, the merit raise request while QI was denied — all discoverable. Erving down to two personnel: Chief Holst and Sergeant Paicos, both named defendants. County jail corrections officers covering patrol shifts. Every non-defendant officer voted with their resignation.
Shelburne Annual Town Meeting — police budget vote
Citizens vote on the 9.4% merit raise. The Change.org petition (Deny the Raise, Demand the Audit) will be active. John has asked: read the archive before voting. A yes vote is a formal public endorsement of the Permission Structure, the one-sided reporting policy, the record obstruction, and the department's failure to act between the morning trespass and the evening assault on November 30. It removes the Board's good-faith defense in any subsequent civil rights litigation.
