Journalist Allegedly Fired For Exposing Abuse On Disabled People At State Health Agency

A journalist from West Virginia was reportedly fired last month after she reported on an alleged abuse made on disabled people by a state health agency.

She was identified as Amelia Ferrell Knisely who had reportedly been warned to stop reporting about allegations that the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources was hiding information about the treatment of disabled persons that were in state care before she was eventually dismissed from her part-time job with West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

“I was let go from my job at WVPB last week following threats from DHHR about my reporting on DHHR’s treatment of people with disabilities,” the woman posted on social media last Dec. 28.

It was in December when Knisely reported that an advocacy group had accused a state of failing to properly institutionalize disabled persons. The group claims that the agency was “patient dumping” and “warehousing patients” so that they would remain unnecessarily institutionalized.

Aside from that, Knisely also allegedly reported that Republican Senate President Craig Blair sent to Gov. Jim Justice asking for a formal probe into the allegations.

She also added that the leaders of the health department had threatened to discredit the WVPB, a publicly funded television and radio network. But instead, she ended up getting fired.

“It is crucial for the press to hold government agencies accountable,” Knisely said in a statement Tuesday, Jan. 3. “It must be emphasized that these events followed my reporting on the mistreatment of people with disabilities, who are in state care.”

It was added that the one who ordered her dismissed was WVPB executive director Butch Antolini, the former communications director for Justice. Antolini got the role in 2021 after his predecessor was ousted following Justice’s overhaul of the agency’s governing board.

Antolini has not commented on Knisely, but other officials denied any effort to influence coverage.

Also, Knisely claims the state asked her for a “complete retraction” on a story she wrote in November, one month after she was hired at WVPB.