ACLU defends jailed Survivor Hatch

Published 5:00 am Thursday, September 10, 2009

PROVIDENCE, R.I. The American Civil Liberties Union wants reality TV star Richard Hatch freed from a jail where he has been held on charges of giving unauthorized interviews.

Lawyers for the ACLU of Massachusetts on Wednesday sought the Survivor winners release from the Barnstable County jail in Bourne, Mass.

Hatch was taken into custody Aug. 18 after giving TV interviews that the federal Bureau of Prisons said it had not approved. He was serving home confinement for failing to pay income taxes on his $1 million prize for winning the first season of the show.

During the interviews, Hatch said the trial judge discriminated against him because he was gay. The ACLU says Hatch has a right to criticize the government.