In this week’s episode of Everyday Injustice, host David Greenwald speaks with author and researcher Delani Bartlette about her new book, The Dumond Affair, which unpacks a little-known but profoundly disturbing case that exposed the dangerous collision of criminal justice, politics, and conspiracy theory. At the center of the story is Wayne Dumond, a man convicted of raping a 17-year-old Arkansas cheerleader who happened to be distantly related to then-Governor Bill Clinton. Despite a conviction and sentencing by a jury, Dumond became a cause célèbre among evangelical and right-wing circles who claimed he was a political prisoner — a narrative that ultimately led to his release under Governor Mike Huckabee. Bartlette traces how Dumond’s wife and a network of evangelical figures, including a powerful Baptist radio preacher, weaponized conspiracy theories to frame Dumond’s imprisonment as a Clinton vendetta. This pressure campaign found a receptive audience in Huckabee, who had benefited politically from that same religious network. When Huckabee took office, he pushed the parole board to release Dumond — despite protests from law enforcement, prosecutors, and the original victim. Tragically, Dumond went on to rape and murder two women in Missouri, a fact that still haunts the case and raises questions about the cost of political intervention in the justice system. What makes The Dumond Affair so relevant today, Bartlette argues, is its eerie foreshadowing of the disinformation-fueled movements that have come to dominate American politics in the Trump era — from Pizzagate to QAnon to January 6. She connects the dots between 1990s Arkansas, the right-wing media ecosystem that took root there, and the modern conspiracy infrastructure we see now. The same rhetorical strategies and manufactured outrage that once fueled attacks on the Clintons now animate the broader assault on democracy itself. At its core, the story is also a cautionary tale about the erosion of legal standards when ideology eclipses evidence. As Bartlette emphasizes, the justice system failed not because of a lack of process, but because of pressure to subvert it. From the sheriff who kept Dumond’s testicles in a jar, to the media’s complicity in elevating tabloid claims to national prominence, to the chilling aftermath of Dumond’s release, The Dumond Affair offers a compelling narrative of how justice goes awry — and what that means for our politics today.