Porn and white supremacist videos disrupt Benton online court hearings
Anyone needing to appear at a Superior Court proceedings in Benton and Franklin counties will need to head to the hearings in person.
Wednesday morning’s criminal docket in Benton County Superior Court came to a screeching halt when someone logged into the online court broadcast and began blaring music and displaying pornographic videos.
Court administrators told the Tri-City Herald that the WebEx system that’s used to broadcast the proceedings was compromised about 9 a.m.
The images continued to play until the system was shut down in Benton and Franklin counties, which share a joint Superior Court. It’s not clear how long it will take for it to be restored.
District Court broadcasts were not affected.
A news release sent at 6 p.m. Wednesday said a “public participant” displayed inappropriate content from their personal camera and microphone.
“It is important to clarify that this incident does not constitute a cybersecurity hack,” said the release.
Local court administrators said they are working with Benton County’s IT department to prevent future public misuse of WebEx.
For now, all court proceedings via WebEx will be discontinued until further notice, said the release. Anyone required to go to court must appear in person, it said.
WebEx disruption
The regular Benton Superior Court docket at 8:30 a.m. was already underway Wednesday, with people in the courtroom and viewers watching online, when shortly before 9 a.m. it was disrupted by loud siren-filled music and profanity-laced shouting.
Judge Jackie Shea Brown started to warn the person to stop until her audio shut off. All the proceedings were then moved to in-person only.
It appeared the first person logged out or was kicked out, but that person was followed by others logging in and broadcasting split-screen images of sex acts. Swastikas were posted in the corners of the screen.
After awhile, a printed message appeared on the screen claiming the system was “hacked by the CCP” and a video of a Klu Klux Klan rally began to play.
It’s unclear if other WebEx broadcasts in the state were also affected.
Similar incidents have happened previously in other online court and government meeting broadcasts around the U.S.
This story was originally published April 9, 2025 at 11:13 AM.