For years, publisher Deb Paul has been stirring the pot in Londonderry, and you can tell she is doing a good job. The local Towney elite are not fans. They are so displeased with her first amendment exercises that it almost looks like someone got her arrested. For what?
Here in New Hampshire, the influence of small-town politics has led to the arrest of a weekly newspaper publisher, Debra Paul of the Londonderry Times. In November, on the day before Thanksgiving, Deb Paul will be in a courtroom, defending herself against the might of the Attorney General’s Office.
Deb Paul stands accused of violating NH RSA 664, titled “POLITICAL EXPENDITURES AND CONTRIBUTIONS,” due to her publication of political advertisements that allegedly did not adhere to the exact letter of the law requiring to the signing of ads for town elections and their labeling as “Political Advertising.” …
The attorney general’s announcement of Deb Paul’s arrest indicated she had received warnings on prior occasions regarding the labeling of political advertising. These warnings appear to have shifted the responsibility for education and enforcement of RSA 664 away from the secretary of state and the attorney general, and transferred compliance from campaigns to Deb Paul herself.
According to the Union Leader (quoted above), there is no provision in the over 9000 words of the law for arrest or detention, so I looked. The only place the word arrest appears in the law is to clarify that no political advertising shall appear on vehicles used to make arrests. The only fines listed are for pre-recorded campaign calls or misrepresenting the origin of a political call.
Violations are to be directed at campaigns, not publishers.
But Deb Paul is charged with multiple Class A misdemeanors (a word that never appears in RSA 664:14) and has been forced to finance her defense against the charges (which sounds a lot like a fine not listed in the statute – and that’s likely the purpose).
Threatening a local publisher with thousands of dollars in fines and possible jail time, while requiring spending many thousands in legal defense costs is a solid way to shut them down. Luckily for the First Amendment, Deb Paul does not crumble that easily and has been fighting. Her prosecution is a misuse of the attorney general’s limited resources and creates a chilling effect on local news when it is needed most.
None of that needed to happen, but this AG under this Governor is known for frivolous prosecution for effect. The NH 9 is the most well-known example among our readers, but the AG went after a local White Supremacy group for “civil rights” violations when they were peacefully exercising their first amendment rights. It’s okay not to like their message, but how do we feel about the message being sent by the NH AG’s office?
Or are the various accusers in any or all of these circumstances assuming their connection to power will shield them from arbitrary acts of government power?
That could prove to be a bigger mistake than the AG arresting and charging Deb Paul.
