An Oregon journalist who filed a lawsuit two weeks ago alleging a small fire district in Central Oregon violated the state’s public meetings law, has now filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging the district and several of its officials violated his First Amendment rights by attempting to restrict his reporting activities, threatening him with trespass enforcement, and barring him from attending public meetings in person.  

Justin Alderman, managing editor of the Prineville Review, filed suit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon against the Alfalfa Fire District, Fire Chief Chad La Vallee, Operations Chief Keegan Parvin, and Board Members Nathan Starr, Mark Laucks, Dustin Piggott, and Carolyn Chase. This suit is in addition to the suit we covered on April 29, 2026. The Prineville Review is a publication of Western Media Group.

According to the complaint, Alderman began investigating the district in late 2024 after receiving complaints from residents concerning alleged nepotism, financial issues, annexation controversies, and transparency concerns involving the district and its leadership.  

The complaint alleges Alderman attended public meetings, submitted public records requests, interviewed citizens, and conducted photography and videography on publicly accessible property as part of his reporting activities.  

The lawsuit claims tensions escalated after Alderman filed a formal grievance under Oregon public meetings law in March 2025 and began publishing articles about the district’s financial practices and governance issues.  

Among the allegations detailed in the complaint are claims that Chief La Vallee threatened Alderman with legal action over alleged defamation, monitored conversations between Alderman and citizens through the district’s security camera system, and later posted statements on social media asserting he had received “pretty heavy allegations” concerning Alderman involving “illegal dealings.”  

The complaint also references a February 11, 2026 incident in which Alderman alleges Chief La Vallee “aggressively grabbed and ripped” a copy of the district meeting agenda from his hands following a public meeting.  

A central focus of the federal lawsuit is an April 8, 2026 public meeting during which the district board adopted “Resolution 2026-4,” described in the complaint as a policy limiting public access to district facilities following public meetings and authorizing trespass enforcement against individuals remaining after adjournment.  

According to the complaint, after the meeting adjourned, Board Members Nathan Starr and Mark Laucks directed Alderman to leave while he was interviewing a citizen outside the station concerning district matters, including vacancies on the district board and budget committee recruitment.  

The complaint quotes Board Member Laucks as warning Alderman: “But we’re going to enforce policy, we’ll be calling for deputy backup here if we have to.”  

The citizen being interviewed allegedly ended the conversation after the exchange, stating: “I don’t want to cause any trouble” and “It’s my first meeting, so I’ll leave.”  

The lawsuit further alleges that Operations Chief Keegan Parvin told Alderman he was “going to be calling the cops” if he did not leave.  

According to the complaint, Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the fire station and eventually warned Alderman he would be arrested if he refused to leave. Alderman alleges he departed “under duress” because he believed he would otherwise be jailed.  

The complaint alleges Alderman returned to the district the following day to continue reporting activities and seek comment from district officials concerning issues including alleged nepotism and grant-funding questions involving the chief’s wife, Leslie La Vallee, who had reportedly resigned from the district earlier in the year.  

The lawsuit claims Chief La Vallee again demanded Alderman leave the property and threatened to contact law enforcement. The complaint also references subsequent reporting published by the Prineville Review and KTVZ concerning alleged election law violations tied to a local option levy campaign involving the district.  

According to the lawsuit, after publication of that reporting and after Alderman filed a separate state-court complaint alleging violations of Oregon’s public meetings law, attorney Jered Reid, on behalf of the district, issued a “Formal Notice of Trespass” on April 27, 2026.  

The complaint quotes the notice as stating:

• This Office represents the Alfalfa Fire District. Based on your violation of Board of Directors Resolution No. 2026-04 … this letter shall serve as your formal notice of your prohibition to be on the above-reference premises.

According to the complaint, the notice warned Alderman that violations could be enforced under Oregon’s criminal trespass statute and advised he could attend future public meetings only remotely by video or telephone.  

Alderman alleges the trespass notice effectively barred him indefinitely from district property, including attendance at public meetings, and substantially impaired his ability to conduct interviews, gather news, communicate with sources, and engage in photography and videography concerning district affairs.  

The complaint seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, damages, attorney’s fees, and a court order preventing enforcement of the district’s policy and trespass notice.