After reading several recent articles in the GraniteGrok concerning the “NH9,” I can only come to the conclusion that we have an integrity problem in both the governor’s Office and now the Department of Public Safety.
Both of whom should have followed the adage that bad news does not get better with age and simply informed us as to what really happened. We would respect you more if you simply admitted your mistake and apologized to these individuals and to the citizens of New Hampshire.
What we did receive is a non-believable deceptive response to a FOIA request from the Commissioner of Public Safety. Apparently, no one is taking responsibility for the improper arrest of these citizens and the violation of their civil rights to peacefully assemble. The video is particularly troubling in showcasing the State Police being used to intimidate citizens and placing them in a very unfavorable light.
While at the same time, a simple threat of a subpoena compelling the sworn testimony of the Governor was sufficient to have all charges dropped. This was a red flag telling us that there is more to this story. Neither the Governor nor the Commissioner will publicly comment and inform us of the reasons for these unlawful arrests. Remaining mute is not acceptable. Leaders don’t act this way.
This abuse of executive branch power started with COVID and has continued to the present. I believe it is time for either the state legislature or our judicial branch to conduct an independent inquiry and to quickly tell us who authorized these arrests and why or compel the Governor and the Commissioner to defend their actions.
Hopefully, this will remain in the public square until we get a satisfactory answer while those arrested continue to seek proper redress. It would be further problematic if an investigation reveals that there is, in fact, information responsive to this FOIA request and was not made available to the public in accordance with state law.
Over to you Commissioner.