After he resigned from teaching,[3] Kearney started the supposedly anonymous website, Turtleboy Sports, which he eventually turned into a full-time career.
This prompted him to write and publish a book titled, I Am Turtleboy: A Teacher Turned Blogger Battles Big Tech Censorship, Threats, and Political Correctness to Protect Free Speech and Democracy.
[10] In 2019, the American Civil Liberties Union provided legal defense for Kearney in a case against a Rhode Island judge who ordered the removal of “any and all posts, blogs, and comments” regarding a person who sued him for libel.
[11] In 2018, Kearney covered alleged misconduct within the Massachusetts State Police regarding a K-9 trooper's history of drug dealing and money laundering.
[12] Kearney was also cited as the first to break news of a Massachusetts state trooper who faced disciplinary actions for including incriminating details in an arrest report concerning a judge's daughter.
[16] He spent approximately two months in jail until being released in February 2024, amid new charges of witness intimidation and wiretapping related to the alleged assault of his former girlfriend.
In 2018, Turtleboy was also among five nominees to be selected for The Valley Patriot's First Amendment Award, a designation given to those who have "made a significant difference in holding public officials accountable, fought for transparency in government, and gone above and beyond the call of duty to defend and protect our right of free speech, a free press, freedom of religion, and/or has been a whistle-blower against corruption".