CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. — On June 11, 2021 after an extensive search for court documents, local citizen Nathan Rinne finally received a warrant that gave investigators nearly unrestricted access to his Facebook account.

He had heard about the warrant from an undisclosed source within the Camden County courthouse. The warrant was for a search of Rinne’s entire Facebook account, and the probable cause was for alleged trespassing when Rinne went to vote at the county courthouse.

Rinne is a Lake of the Ozarks area trim carpenter by trade, but has become known over the past few years for his involvement in local hot-button political issues, including opposition to the proposed lodging tax hike to fund a soccer complex in 2019, questions about Camdenton School District’s mask mandates in 2020, a run against incumbent Camden County Commissioner Don Williams in 2020, and concerns about the Camden County Sheriff’s department and county commission.

This spring, Rinne received a letter from the county commission informing him he was prohibited from entering the Camden County Courthouse.

The prohibition came after Rinne filmed video within the courthouse relating to what local citizens call “gravel gate,” an alleged mismanagement of road contracts within the county commissioners office. Rinne has on many occasions used audio or video to expose what he considers wrong doings within the commissioners’ office: in one recorded exchange, newly elected Camden County Commissioner James Gohagan was barred from entering his office by county employees. Rinne was was disturbed that the employees were not sanctioned more harshly. County commissioner Don Williams told LakeExpo the disciplinary actions against those employees (5 days of unpaid suspension for the employees, and recommended conflict resolution training for the commissioners) were recommended by Jackson Lewis P.C., which investigated the incident.

The commissioners voted 2-1 to ban Rinne from the courthouse: Greg Hasty and Don Williams voted yes, and James Gohagan voted no. Rinne says the commissioners who voted to ban him cited concerns about Rinne’s alleged run-ins with county employees. But he argues he has always been polite to employees whenever he goes to the courthouse. He also says the letter he received from the commissioners never actually mentioned trespassing; rather it simply informed him he was not allowed to enter the property. He argues that is insufficient language to charge him with trespassing. Not long after that, Rinne says, he did enter the courthouse in order to vote in April; he says he was not confronted by anyone while he was there, and he left of his own accord, after voting.

The warrant for Rinne’s Facebook account seems to allege he trespassed in that instance. However, since then, no charges have been filed.

Rinne recently posted an audio clip of a phone conversation between himself and Camden County Sheriff Tony Helms regarding the warrant regarding a search of Rinne’s Facebook account. In the audio clip, Sheriff Helms denied involvement, telling Rinne that he had heard about the warrant but did not issue it. He noted a Laclede County judge had signed the warrant.

He finally received the warrant in June, although it appears the warrant went into effect the first week of May. The Camden County Prosecutor's office had possession of the warrant, and after multiple attempts by Rinne to obtain it since May, he received a copy. 

Rinne says other than what some within the county courthouse had privately told him, he did not know what he had been charged with, or the reason, until receiving the document. However, he told LakeExpo he can’t help but think the investigation is a political move, in response to his involvement in local political issues over the past few years.

“When they spied on me, they spied on several officials at the local and the state level,” he said, pointing out the warrant gave investigators the ability to view Facebook Messenger conversations he’d had with a variety of individuals.

Camden County Undersheriff and his assistant had no comment when asked for confirmation of charges and existence of Rinne’s warrant.


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