Jason Brown was indicted on 10 charges on Friday, eight of them felonies. As reported by the Parsons (Kan.) Sun, Brown has been charged with four counts of blackmail, four counts of identity theft (all felonies) and two counts of criminal false communication.
The Montgomery County (Kan.) Attorney's Office alleges Brown posed as an attorney of the Cochran Law Firm--that's the Johnnie Cochran, of OJ Simpson fame--to communicate with two Kansas newspapers regarding their coverage of Brown and the Independence Community College football program, which Brown coached until his February resignation.
According to the Attorney's Office, Brown sent a cease-and-desist email to the Montgomery County Chronicle regarding the paper's editorial over a fight between Independence and Garden City Community College, which was featured during the trailer for the upcoming season of Last Chance U. The Attorney's Office also alleges Brown emailed the Chronicle following the paper's report that Brown told a German player, "I'm your new Hitler," which led to Brown's resignation.
Brown blamed the Chronicle for forcing him out of his job in his post-resignation statement.
"More plainly, the Montgomery County Chronicle has greatly diminished my ability to successfully do my job, and has set this football program back significantly, and the cumulative effect of all these detrimental factors I believe clearly constitute a constructive discharge of my employment," the statement read in part.
Brown is also alleged to have sent similar false correspondence to the Independence Daily Reporter.
Reached by FootballScoop on Friday evening, Brown said, "I'm surprised as you are, this is crazy. I'm trying to find out what's going on myself. I've not been contacted by anyone." Asked if he had any response to the charges, Brown did not respond. Seemingly confirming that Brown had no idea he would later be charged with eight felonies, Brown tweeted this on Friday afternoon.
Earlier this month, Brown announced the title of his forthcoming book.
Brown has also used his Twitter account to re-litigate the issue that led to his resignation from ICC.
Last Chance U. debuts July 19 on Netflix.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.