Austin Goss, a 26-year-old former reporter with Dakota News Now, pleaded guilty Tuesday to disorderly conduct, reports the Argus Leader. In doing so, he copped to using South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's personal cell number to make a prank call to South Dakota's former Republican Party chair, Dan Lederman, in January 2023. Goss will pay court fees and fines of $570. He got off easy, however—the young journalist initially faced a more serious misdemeanor harassment charge.
Goss' attorney, Jason Glodt, issued a statement to the Argus Leader saying in part that Goss only intended to pull a practical joke and "wants to apologize to the law enforcement officers who devoted limited resources to the matter," noting that his client had contacted Gov. Noem and Lederman. Goss reportedly didn't speak himself during the January call but used "Mafia Guy Got Vaccines," a pre-made prank call found on PrankDial.com. Authorities were able to pinpoint Goss's IP address as the source of the call.
After the call happened in January, the
AP reports Gov. Noem asked the US Attorney General and several federal legislative committees to look into a leak that publicized her family's personal information. Neither Goss, who was fired from his reporting job after the prank came to light, nor Governor Noem would comment on the plea when contacted by
CBS News.
(More
Kristi Noem stories.)
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