In a stunning attempt to silence whistleblower allegations and intimidate the press, the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS) has issued a blistering legal threat against The Current Report, and myself, investigative reporter Cece Woods, demanding a full retraction of an article that republished an anonymous letter penned by a self-identified deputy. The letter, titled “Just a Deputy,” exposed alleged union corruption, secretive dealings with Sheriff Robert Luna, and a growing rift between rank-and-file deputies and their leadership.
But instead of addressing the serious claims raised in the letter, ALADS responded with a five-page threat letter, more notable for its legal saber-rattling than factual transparency.
At the heart of the article was the anonymous author’s explosive assertion that ALADS had quietly altered its bylaws to centralize power within its board, effectively stripping dues-paying deputies of their right to vote for union president. The letter also claimed ALADS President Rich Pippin was holding secret meetings with Sheriff Luna and routinely denying deputies access to union financial records and legal representation. The implications, if true, suggest a union leadership more interested in backroom deals and political favoritism than protecting the rights of the deputies it claims to serve.
Instead of providing transparency, ALADS responded with legal threats.
In a letter dated August 4, 2025, attorney Tristan Mackprang accused The Current Report of defamation, demanded a retraction, and insisted I preserve all records related to the article, classic intimidation tactics aimed at silencing investigative journalism.
SMOKE AND MIRRORS
The letter does not challenge the existence of the whistleblower letter, nor does it offer any evidence refuting the broader concerns of member disenfranchisement, financial opacity, or behind-the-scenes union-politician collusion. Instead, it attempts to discredit the whistleblower by pointing out one technicality: that Pippin is not retired.
A lawyer with a family member in the department weighed in on the letter:
The legal letter further asserts that the union’s controversial officer appointment process has been in place since at least 2008.
But here’s the problem: none of that rebuts the core of the whistleblower’s grievance.
If anything, the legal response validates the whistleblower’s broader point, that ALADS leadership is out of touch with its membership and would rather threaten journalists than answer tough questions. The demand letter offers no meaningful explanation as to why ALADS’s governance structure has failed to include broader member input or why such significant decisions are made without open discourse. It merely hides behind bureaucratic technicalities and decades-old bylaw provisions while skimming over the growing unrest within its ranks.
Equally alarming is the union’s blanket denial of secret meetings with Sheriff Luna. According to ALADS, only one meeting took place recently, on July 1, 2025, and it was “not a secret.” Yet sources inside the department have long whispered about a cozy relationship between Luna and select ALADS leadership. If these meetings are above board and well-documented, why the heavy-handed response to legitimate questions about them?
Even more troubling is ALADS’s insistence that it provides robust legal defense and financial transparency for members. That may be true in form, but not necessarily in practice. The union’s history is littered with grievances from deputies who claim to have been hung out to dry when they needed the union most, particularly those who dared question internal politics.
The letter ends with a threat to seek general, special, and exemplary damages if a retraction isn’t issued within three weeks. But this threat reeks of desperation and damage control – not confidence. It attempts to conflate a journalist’s duty to report on public interest matters with a legal requirement to vet every claim in an anonymous whistleblower letter as though it were sworn testimony. That’s not how the First Amendment works.
What ALADS is really demanding is silence.
NOT MY FIRST RODEO
This is not just a battle over one article, it’s a referendum on the union’s accountability to its members and its willingness to respect public scrutiny. Anonymous sources and whistleblower letters have long been a cornerstone of investigative journalism, particularly when dealing with institutions that have the power to retaliate. To demand that journalists abandon such tools, or face legal consequences, is not just anti-press; it’s anti-democracy.
The Current Report stands by its reporting and its commitment to giving a voice to those silenced within broken systems, especially those who risk their careers and reputations to speak the truth.
This wasn’t the first time the political powers in LA County tried to strong arm me into a retraction for exposing what they didn’t want coming to light. In November, 2024, after I posted on X about Sheriff Robert Luna’s rumored health issues, something the public had every right to question given his role as the county’s top law enforcement official. Luna instead used my post as a springboard to announce his bid for re-election, and thirty days later, sent a cease-and-desist letter, a clear attempt to use his position to intimidate me into silence.
RedState journalist Jen Van Laar, and multiple lawyers she reached out to for comment regarding the threat of legal action for publishing my X post, called it out for exactly what it was: a shameless abuse of power by an elected official desperate to control the narrative and avoid public scrutiny.
As for ALADS, if they want to clear their name, there’s a simple solution: open the books, invite a third-party audit, and let members vote directly for their leadership.
I stand by my article based on years of reporting on the LASD via sources deep within the department, and publishing “Just a Deputy” letters since 2023. There’s no doubt in my mind most of these claims ring true.
I will double down on that and ensure these letters will continue to be published to give deputies a voice their union leadership has tried to silence.
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