SABATTUS (NEWS CENTER Maine) - A Maine Facebook page notorious for posting false information is no longer on Facebook.
"Maine police & fire alerts" was run by Gregory Powers, a Sabattus man in his 20s. Occasionally, he posted completely false stories, like in early May when he claimed State Representative Karen Gerrish was dead.
The page had around 36,000 followers at the time it was taken down.
NEWS CENTER Maine interviewed Greg Powers in January 2018. At the time, he said his mission is “to provide the public with information comes across the scanner as well as occasional police reports.” He said his information is “live, raw, and uncut.” He 'reports' his interpretation of what he hears over the scanner.
His page has caused many local law enforcement agencies to alert the public of the truth, including during a four day manhunt for accused murderer John Williams.
On Thursday evening, several Facebook users noticed the page was no longer active.
Maine State Police Spokesperson Steve McCausland said his organization is relieved the page has been taken down. "[Powers'] posts have been a series of irresponsible fabrications, but the falsehoods he posted on the Norridgewock manhunt and about Rep. Gerrish were outrageous," he told NEWS CENTER Maine via text message.
Dan Gagnon is the creator of 'Maine police & fire alerts - EXPOSED." He owns a private security company. He says the false page being removed is "mission accomplished."
"I'm a big supporter of our First Amendment rights and I believe that you can say what you want, but there's a limit," Gagnon explained. "When what you say is causing public concern and public safety issues, I think that's kind of crossing the line."
It is unclear whether the page was taken down by Facebook or by Mr. Powers himself. A Facebook spokesperson told NEWS CENTER Maine she is working to get the specific details. In the meantime, she says the company has been reviewing the page "against our policies." She promised to follow up when she had more information.