Note: we discussed part of an appearance by YouTuber That Umbrella Guy (TUG) on Mr. Coop. Both the clip and the full episode are below.
TUG stepped outside the Halesverse and into family court to smear me, when he appeared with YouTuber Mr. Coop last week.
TUG discussed my recent set of articles about the Suarez case from central Illinois, where a suspected child molester got sole custody of his children. My interview with David Suarez, the suspected molester is below.
TUG was unconcerned with a suspected pedophile- who admitted to watching porn while caring for his kids- getting sole custody. Instead, he used his appearance to smear me.
He fixated on Bridget Suarez, the child’s mother, spending three days in jail after I released one paragraph from a guardian ad litem report, which is supposed to be confidential.
He falsely claimed that Bridget gave me the report; he didn’t explain what was in the paragraph which was released, nor did he explain the evidence that I presented that David Suarez is a pedophile.
That evidence includes testimony from a pediatrician, disclosures to multiple mandated reporters, and physical evidence.
In his presentation, he exhibited patterns I’ve seen before from him.
TUG selectively releases
During his appearance, TUG only flashed on the screen part of the fundraiser, along with a snippet of one of the three articles I wrote about the case.
TUG did this previously when he only showed half of an article of mine, he attacked.
He then spun a narrative which would have been debunked by showing the rest of the article.
For instance, he claimed that I was creating a sensational headline for clicks by claiming that I might be indicted. He said he didn’t see any evidence anyone was investigating me.
The evidence was further down in the article, when I explained that an Officer Joseph Pienta of the Peru, Illinois, Police Department, called me four times, and I later received a Freedom of Information Act request showing that Officer Pienta had filed a report for eavesdropping.
That document also showed that the case had been handed to the State’s Attorney’s Office, “referred to SAO,” it stated.
TUG claimed I was a liar and downplayed any suggestion that David Suarez was molesting his kids.
“I won’t take his word on anything, but he’s accusing someone of being a pedophile,” TUG said. He mispronounced pedophile, probably because the YouTube algorithm doesn’t like the word.
He could say that because he conveniently didn’t show the portion of my article where I gave the evidence. In another article, I interviewed, Tim Burgess, the child’s grandfather who described a disclosure.
Ignorance is bliss
If TUG did any research on this case, he retained none of the information.
He claimed to Mr. Coop that I cost Bridget, “her case.”
Not true. There was a custody trial in January 2026, and she was put on supervised visits.
I wrote my first article on May 1, 2026.
In fact, her case is currently being appealed, according to the docket.
An appeal’s court detached from this case may see how wrong the trial judge, Carla Wheeler, acted.
At one point, TUG even proclaimed that he hadn’t looked at the docket or court files. This was a stunning revelation because his broadcast partner, Megan Fox, claimed in 2025 that a good journalist would not comment on a case before reading every document.
“An investigative journalist should familiarize themselves with every motion on the public record before commenting on a case, especially one this complex. It's clear you haven't done that. One reporter contacting another reporter to do his work for him is bizarre,” Megan wrote to Richard Luthmann in an email on January 24, 2025.
Those rules don’t apply to TUG.
TUG doesn’t give the other side a chance to speak
TUG didn’t reach out to me before smearing me on Mr. Coop, and that’s another pattern.
He smears people he doesn’t like without asking them any questions beforehand.
I don’t do that. After TUG’s smear broadcast, I reached out to him. Here are some of his responses.
Ooo but did YOU get her arrested, RIGHT Michael?
3 DAYS in fucking JAIL, including MOTHER’S DAY, screwing up YET ANOTHER case?
Did you tell her how this isnt your first rodeo getting others in trouble, either, or did you just omit that in your promises for 400 an article?
I hope to GOD this isnt the case of ANOTHER vulnerable woman trusting you while you ruined her life.
…
Bwahahaha!
You ran to Paint Chips as quick as you could, didnt ya bud?
SOOO predictable.
Its funny because thats your MO.
You ruin shit and when you get blasted, its back to trying to harass a mofo into silence.
Im not a vulnerable woman, though, and don’t give a fuck what you try.
Whats even funnier, Michael, is if this were my fuck up, what would be your process be?
Calling the woman to try and get the goods? Or the guy you wrote about? Or the court? Or law enforcement that wants you jail?
Thats the problem with you idiots. You arent just gross and incompetent, to the point you dont get protective orders and how VAWA works.
You sometimes DESTROY people’s cases and get them jailed.
You dont seem to care about the wreckage either - hell, vulnerable women seem to be your all-you-can-eat buffet.
Just latch on and suckle on the bank account.
Right, Michael?
I asked TUG about his smears, and his defense was to attack me. Megan Fox also got into the act. Based on her input, she knew nothing about the case before chiming in.
Michale (sic) Volpe couldn’t investigate his way out of a paper bag. Clearly, the court didn’t think the man was credibly accused. Knowing Volmit’s taste in women, he probably scammed another mentally ill person who has delusions. That’s his type, right?
And we all know yours, Paint Chips. Large, tattooed, and in for life?
READ MY SUBSTACK! 6 readers not including my mom (but also 5 of Dick’s sock accounts!) Don’t forget to donate to my unethical fund for writing articles that get women jailed!
Great job, Volpe! You’re becoming a legend! You’re the only “journalist” I know who regularly gets his subjects thrown in jail! What a talent!
Don’t forget your helmets when you go out, boys. I worry for your safety.
Megan covered family court with me for a year, arguing that abuse is covered up.
During that period, she covered the Van Den Bergh case, where the court also didn’t believe that a child was being molested. She criticized the court’s decisions, in light of the evidence.
Now, she defends child molesters.
I reached out to Mr. Coop, but he didn’t respond.
Conclusion
TUG attacked me because Bridget Suarez went to jail for three day, including Mother’s Day, after I released a paragraph from the guardian ad litem (GAL) report.
TUG never reported what was in the portion I released- it was the part when David Suarez admitted to watching porn with the kids in the house.
TUG framed the issue as me releasing confidential information, rather than the court hiding key evidence.
He also didn’t have a problem with a judge sending a woman to jail for three days because a paragraph of a confidential report was released.
Post-script
Check out the fundraiser to help me create more articles on the Hales case. Find articles one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five and twenty-six.
