The publisher of a small South Alabama newspaper faces criminal charges for the second time in a week after a grand jury indicted her Wednesday on charges that she utilized her position as a public school board member for personal gain.

Sherry Ann Digmon, 72, of Atmore, faces two charges of ethics violation. A $100,000 bond was issued with the arrest warrant.

Digmon, who is also an Escambia County School Board member, is accused of using her position for “personal gain by selling ads” in the Atmore Magazine and/or Grace Publishing LLC, which she has a financial interest in, and received a financial gain in excess of $2,500.

She is also accused of using her position, as a school board member, in soliciting advertising from former Escambia County Superintendent John Knott and former Chief School Financial Officer Julie Madden by “soliciting ads for the financial benefit” of her publications.

No further details were provided.

Digmon, co-owner and publisher of The Atmore News, and Don Fletcher, 69, a reporter at the outlet, were arrested Friday and charged with felony counts for allegedly revealing grand jury evidence. The charges stem from an Oct. 25, article written by Fletcher in which he is alleged to have disclosed that a subpoena had been issued related to the use of COVID-19 funds within the Escambia County School System.

Also charged was Ashley Fore, 47, of Brewton, a bookkeeper at the school system. Fore’s was charged with allegedly revealing grand jury evidence to the media.

All three are out on $10,000 bonds each on those charges.

Escambia County District Attorney Steve Billy, according to Fletcher’s Oct. 25 account of an Oct. 12 school board meeting, confirmed that his office was investigating the school system shortly before the school board — which includes Digmon as a member — voted 4-3 to not renew Escambia County Superintendent Michele McClung’s contract. Digmon was one of the “No” votes.

He is quoted in Fletcher’s article as saying that the non-renewal of McClung’s contract was “Washington politics brought to Escambia County, Alabama.”

Billy then said, “I don’t control much in Escambia County, Alabama, but I do control the grand jury of this county and I can tell you this lady right here [McClung] is not going to be brought before a grand jury because there’s nothing to bring before a grand jury. There are some other matters that will be brought before a grand jury that I’m not at liberty to discuss because by law that’s a secret investigation.”

Fletcher also wrote that Escambia County authorities had seized cell phones of the four school board members who voted not to renew McClung’s contract.

Digmon and Fore could not be reached for comment. Fletcher declined comment. Their attorneys have not returned calls for comment.

The arrests of the newspaper publisher and reporter have generated national attention after the Committee to Protect Journalists urged for the charges of revealing grand jury secrets to be dropped against Digmon and Fletcher.

They should not be prosecuted for simply doing their jobs and covering a matter of local interest, such as the allocation of school board funds,” Katherine Jacobsen, the organization’s program coordinator for the United States and Canada, said in a statement. “Journalists play a crucial role in their local communities. Arresting them creates a chilling effect and is a gross misuse of taxpayer funds.”

Dennis Bailey, general counsel with the Alabama Press Association, in citing a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court case, said the nation’s highest court gave the news media a “right to publish truthful information on matters of public concern, even if unlawfully acquired, provided the publisher did not participate in the unlawful conduct.”

Said Bailey, “I do not know all the facts here, but based upon what I have seen so far, it is my opinion reporters who receive and publish unsolicited tips about the actual issuance and service of a grand jury subpoena do not violate Alabama grand jury secrecy laws unless they coerced someone to provide the information.”

Bailey said in his 40-plus years of handling media law matters, he has “never seen a reporter arrested for publishing truthful information about the existence of a grand jury subpoena.”