On October 13, 2021, NH State police arrested nine members of the public during a regularly scheduled open public meeting of the NH Executive Council with Governor Sununu. To put this in perspective, the event occurred during the Covid “emergency” shutdown of the state, during which time Governor Sununu, acting as Emperor, issued 90 Emergency Orders, which shut down and bankrupted many “non-essential” businesses and social groups, closed restaurants, schools, churches, playgrounds, and beaches, but left state liquor stores and big box stores open. Mom and Pop stores shut down and corporate chains benefited.
The state of emergency started March 13, 2020 and expired May 11, 2023. Tensions were somewhat high at this meeting, which was focused on accepting a $27 million dollar Federal Covid vaccination grant, which members of the audience opposed. They did not want the state enforcing federal vaccine mandates and quarantine rules. They were trying to protect freedom in the Live Free or Die state.
The meeting was held in the Police Standards and Training Center Council facility in Concord, not the customary meeting location in the State House. Well over a hundred state troopers were stationed throughout and outside the room, which was highly irregular and unsettling.
The Governor and the State Police supposedly “warned” attendees against delaying or interfering with the meeting, lest they be arrested. It seems like they were not so much anticipating a disturbance as hoping to provoke one.
Please take a few minutes to watch this independent video recording of the meeting to see for yourself who warned whom about what disturbances.
Attendees did not disrupt, delay, or interfere with the proceedings. Evidence is also publicly available on the Executive Council’s website with a video recording of their meeting.
After the arrests began, the meeting was paused by the governor. The public was confused as to the reason for the arrests. There did not appear to be any consistency about or reasonable basis for the arrests.
After all the intimidation and humiliation of these arrests, the state quietly withdrew its charges against all of those arrested just before they were finally going to get their day in court in late June 2023, which was nearly two years after the arrests. There was no advance notice, no explanation, and no apology for undermining the constitutionally guaranteed rights of those arrested. These citizens did not disturb the peace, shout, or yell. The state knew that it would be unable to prove its case. Last minute dropping of charges is a strategy that maximizes intimidation and legal expenses.
The whole episode amounted to false arrest under color of law. Unless such transgressions are recognized and admonished, there’s no guarantee they won’t happen again. It was the behavior of a police state.
One might wonder whether these arrests were planned. The location was strategically selected. Well over a hundred state troopers were requested in advance. The Governor was fixated on his cell phone throughout the meeting and periodically looked to his right and his left across the room. This unusual behavior can be seen in the video recording of the meeting. Why did the Governor keep scanning the room? Exactly who was he texting? Was this a political retaliation of some sort?
Here are a few of the complaint descriptions for those arrested for “Disorderly Conduct” under RSA 644:2.
1. Purposely caused a breach of the peace and public inconvenience by disrupting the orderly conduct of business of a Governor and Executive Council Meeting at the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Center Council facility in Concord, New Hampshire, after receiving a warning from Governor Sununu and New Hampshire State Troopers that continued verbal disruption would result in arrest, to wit yell “Leave him alone.” [Clearly after the arrests, not before.]
2. Purposely caused a breach of the peace and public inconvenience by disrupting the orderly conduct of business of a Governor and Executive Council Meeting at the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Center Council facility in Concord, New Hampshire, after receiving a warning from Governor Sununu and New Hampshire State Troopers that continued verbal disruption would result in arrest, to wit yell “Amen.” [Not audible on the video recording at all.]
3. Purposely caused a breach of the peace and public inconvenience by disrupting the orderly conduct of business of a Governor and Executive Council Meeting at the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Center Council facility in Concord, New Hampshire, after receiving a warning from Governor Sununu and New Hampshire State Troopers that continued verbal disruption would result in arrest, to wit yelling, loud noises. [Many in attendance were confused at that point and asking why the arrests appeared to be selective.]
4. Purposely caused a breach of the peace and public inconvenience by disrupting the orderly conduct of business of a Governor and Executive Council Meeting at the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Center Council facility in Concord, New Hampshire, after receiving a warning from Governor Sununu and New Hampshire State Troopers that continued verbal disruption would result in arrest, to wit yelling: “You guys just took a thousand dollars from his father” and /or “What’s wrong with you guys?” [$1,000 for what?]
That last description is pretty unintelligible. The troopers arrested a mother who was holding her 4 year old son, who had previously been sleeping in her arms. Both parents were arrested and handcuffed for no apparent reason. That’s pretty traumatic, more so for a child.
As a condition for bail after being arrested these individuals were required to sign a document promising not to go within 1,000 feet, which is about 1/5 of a mile, of the Governor or the Executive Council members. This amounted to a requirement to stay out of Concord. It was essentially a restraining order, which had to be signed as a mandatory condition for bail. They could not enter the State House for any public hearing or legislative session, because they could not predict whether they would inadvertently encounter the Governor or Executive Council members.
These restrictions were made without due process of law. The presumption was that these individuals were violent and our elected officials needed to be protected. Again this is police state behavior.
Then there’s the judicial intimidation of these citizens, by disbarring their attorney after they had invested over $10,000 in his time and services. This was followed by the state of NH Bar’s refusal to allow their second attorney to practice law in New Hampshire, despite his having successfully passed the Massachusetts bar exam, which is typically transferable to New Hampshire.
These harassed and intimidated citizens are now filing their own lawsuit against the Governor and state troopers, pro se, on their own, without benefit of legal counsel, because that’s the way justice “works” in New Hampshire. The court says: our way or the highway.
And just now, the current NH Attorney General refused to serve the state troopers with a subpoena for this lawsuit, and tried to require over a $1,000 for sheriffs to serve the troopers named in the lawsuit. These arrested individuals decided to track down and serve the troopers themselves, despite the fact that all state troopers carry firearms. Hardly a risk-free exercise to confront an armed state trooper with an unwanted subpoena. When they reached out for assistance from their friends on Facebook, the AG’s office suddenly and miraculously “on their own” reversed their position on serving the subpoenas and charging a fee.
Shining a little daylight on misbehavior has a way of embarrassing those perpetrating it. We need an awful lot of sunlight in New Hampshire, because there’s an awful lot of misbehavior.
