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Calling herself “the top Dem” in state government, Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill (D–Lebanon) has been using her official position to recruit plaintiffs for a potential lawsuit against New Hampshire’s newly enacted voter ID law, and directing them to a high-profile Democratic law firm in Washington, D.C.

In emails sent from her official Executive Council account and obtained by NHJournal, Liot Hill refers potential plaintiffs to the Elias Law Firm. That’s the same Marc Elias who helped Hillary Clinton fund the research used in the now-debunked dossier behind the Russia collusion hoax.

While Liot Hill’s actions may or may not be illegal, critics point out that she’s trying to help a Washington, D.C., law firm sue the state of New Hampshire—which could cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars—while serving as one of New Hampshire’s fiscal watchdogs.

“This is astonishingly bad judgment from a member of what effectively serves as our state’s board of directors, ignoring her fiduciary duty to our citizens and taxpayers in favor of shameless partisan hackery,” a New Hampshire attorney who does business before the Executive Council told NHJournal on background. “Sad.”

The Elias Law Firm that Liot Hill is helping is notorious for its aggressive—and expensive—legal tactics on behalf of Democratic clients and causes, such as opposing voter ID requirements.

“I am writing to ask for your help,” Liot Hill wrote. “SB 287 was recently signed into law. This is a bill that will make it harder for people to vote in New Hampshire by forcing every absentee voter to provide a copy of an acceptable photo ID—or appear in person before a clerk or a notary—each time the voter requests an absentee ballot for any election.

“I am working with some folks who are trying to identify voters who will be impacted by SB 287, and I was thinking that this may affect older folks/mobility-challenged individuals,” she wrote to Chuck Saia, executive director of the Governor’s Commission on Disability.

“Would you be willing to have a call with Tina (copied on this email, contact information below) to talk further?” Liot Hill added.

“Tina” is Tina Meng Morrison, the Elias Law Firm attorney copied on each email. Morrison’s contact information appears immediately above Liot Hill’s official Executive Council email signature.

Other emails obtained by NHJournal had nearly identical messaging and were sent to:

• Lisa Beaudoin, Strategies for Disability Equity

• Donnalee Lozeau, Community Action Partnership of Hillsborough and Rockingham counties

• Isadora Rodríguez Legendre, The Developmental Disabilities Council

• Olivia Zink, Open Democracy

Unanswered in the emails: Liot Hill’s financial relationship with the law firm. Is the Executive Councilor being paid or receiving any remuneration for her work? Has the Democratic law firm donated to her campaign? Neither Liot Hill nor Meng Morrison would say.

In fact, Liot Hill declined to respond to any questions from NHJournal, which she described in her email to Meng Morrison as “a Republican online news source.”

“I’m the top Dem in state govt in NH, and they are always attacking me,” Liot Hill complained. “I’ve stopped responding to them. I am also interested to know who forwarded my email to them.”

Liot Hill sent NHJournal’s request for comment to the attorney, to which Meng Morrison replied, “Thanks for forwarding. If you could ignore this email for any comment, that would be much appreciated.”

If she is getting paid, Liot Hill’s email campaign is ethically murky. Elected officials in New Hampshire are governed by different sets of rules. Members of the executive branch, like Liot Hill, have fewer restrictions than state legislators.

But murky finances are part of Liot Hill’s history.

According to her campaign disclosures, the Lebanon Democrat has spent thousands in campaign cash on meals, clothes, and visits to salons during the 2024 race. Her campaign expenditures included a $190 ferry ride to the Hamptons and $181 to register her car, as well as repairs around her home.

This year, she has already been reimbursed for tens of thousands of dollars in travel and other costs, despite not facing the voters again until next year.

“It should come as no surprise that Karen Liot Hill is involved in another unethical scandal. She previously misused campaign dollars; now we come to learn that she’s electioneering with taxpayer dollars,” New Hampshire GOP Chair Jim MacEachern said. “It’s shameful that she is still in her position. Granite Staters deserve better.”

Elias Law Group founder Marc Elias is a heavy hitter in the Democratic Party. He was the DNC lawyer from 2009 through 2023 and served on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. His firm represented the Democratic mail shop that sent illegal mailers into New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District’s GOP primary in 2022. The mail shop eventually agreed to resolve a New Hampshire Attorney General investigation with a three-year agreement that included payment of a $40,000 fine.

Elias told The New Yorker in 2021 that his firm “represents only clients who meet at least one of three criteria: they must be Democrats or an organization that helps Democrats win elections; they are bringing cases that challenge laws that restrict voting; or they are a progressive group that meets the values of our firm.”

Executive Councilors John Stephen and Dave Wheeler, both Republicans, attended an Americans for Prosperity – New Hampshire event Wednesday night discussing the role of Executive Councilors in state government. Neither would comment on their colleague’s actions, but Wheeler did acknowledge that if the state is forced to hire outside counsel to deal with an Elias lawsuit, that contract would come before Liot Hill and the Executive Council for approval.

“I don’t know any of the circumstances,” Stephen said of Liot Hill’s emails. “But I think the law is a great law, and I’m so proud that the legislature passed the law to show proof of identity and citizenship and residency in order to vote.”

Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill may or may not be “the top Democrat in state government,” as she claims. But she is definitely the king of the road.

While the first-term councilor won’t be facing the voters again until (at least) September of 2026, her latest campaign finance report claims she’s already covered more than 9,670 miles on the campaign trail as of June 1. As a result, she’s paid herself $6,771.70 from her campaign fund to cover the costs.

In addition to the mileage, Liot Hill’s campaign filings include $2,518 for candidate travel. However, the report indicates that $2,462 of those “travel” expenses were actually three separate payments to Gills Point S Tire & Auto Service in West Lebanon.

But that’s not all for the District 2 road warrior.

Every executive councilor receives an annual mileage/expense stipend on top of their modest $18,000 a year salary. Councilors from Districts 3, 4, and 5 get $7,980 per year. But because Districts 1 and 2 — Liot Hill’s — are so geographically large, they receive $11,970. 

Add six months of her Executive Council travel to her campaign filing, and Liot Hill has already received more than $15,000 in travel reimbursements as of June 1.

Liot Hill reported $39,590 in this fundraising revenue this reporting period, mostly from individual donors, and spent $30,416. Of that spending total, $7,530.91 — or about 25 percent — went to Liot Hill herself.

Eye-grabbing campaign spending is nothing new for Liot Hill, despite the fact that her job as executive councilor is to review contracts and impose fiscal accountability on state government.

Her previous filings are already under investigation by the Election Law Unit of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office. Questions were raised about the accuracy and authenticity of her filings when, after an NHJournal report on her spending, Liot Hill filed an updated version with significant revisions. The originals bear the signature of her treasurer, former state Rep. Corrine Morse. For the revisions, Liot Hill replaced Morse as her own treasurer and signed the documents herself.

Asked by NHJournal if she had in fact signed the original documents, Morse declined to respond.

Liot Hill has also declined to respond to repeated requests for comment about her campaign spending. Her new report lists accountant Michael Button as her campaign treasurer.

Liot Hill’s latest campaign filing is very different from those of her executive council colleagues.

District 3 Republican Janet Stevens reported raising $18,795 from Jan. 1 through June 1, and spent $12,923. Most of Stevens’ spending went to media consultants ($4,950) and campaign consultants ($2,250). She spent another $2,900 total on yard signs and food for fundraising events. Stevens does not claim any payments for reimbursements, travel, mileage, or candidate meals in her report.

Councilor John Stephen (R-District 4) reported $92,701 raised during the same period. His campaign spent just $4,523. Stephen claimed a $66 reimbursement for event supplies, and nothing for mileage, travel, or candidate meals.

Liot Hill, who had been the elected treasurer for Grafton County, was found in default this month in a small claims case over her failure to pay $4,234 in credit card debt. According to court records, Liot Hill never responded to the complaint filed in February in the Lebanon District Court.

Democrat Karen Liot Hill, whose unorthodox campaign spending in her Executive Council race has already raised ethical questions, failed to meet the filing deadline for both of her final two campaign reports. 

One of the Lebanon Democrat’s reports was due Oct. 30, the other on Nov. 13. But neither was filed with the Secretary of State’s Office until Thursday, Dec. 12 and they didn’t appear in the public campaign finance database until Dec. 13.

Liot Hill is set to be sworn in next month as the District 2 Executive Councilor, replacing Cinde Warmington, who chose to run for governor rather than another term on the council. Warmington lost to former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig in the Democratic primary. Craig went on to lose to Republican Kelly Ayotte in the general election.

Liot Hill handily defeated Republican Kim Strathdee in the heavily-Democrat district.

In October, NHJournal broke the story of Liot Hill’s questionable campaign finance spending in her primary against Democrat Mike Liberty. According to her campaign disclosures, Liot Hill spent thousands in campaign cash on meals, clothes, and visits to salons. Her campaign expenditures included a $190 ferry ride to the Hamptons and $181 to register her car.

She also reported spending $7,004 on gas for her car, $755 for car maintenance, and another $8,330 on meals.

A major concern regarding her original reports were two checks, one for $700 and another for $650, that did not include details on who she paid or for what election-related purpose. Both the checks correspond chronologically to court costs charged against Liot Hill. 

On Dec. 12, 2023, a car financing company filed a motion for contempt against Liot Hill in Lebanon District Court for her failure to comply with a previous payment order. At the time, she had a balance of more than $1,000.

In January, Liot Hill pleaded no contest to a 2023 violation for driving with a suspended license and agreed to pay $620 in fines and court costs. However, court records show Liot Hill’s first check to cover the fine bounced.

In response to NHJournal’s reporting, Liot Hill filed amended reports. She listed the two checks for $1,350 as reimbursements to Liot Hill for campaign expenses. And while the first campaign finance documents were signed by Liot Hill’s campaign treasurer Corinne Morse, the amended filing was signed by Liot Hill herself, who took over the treasurer duties for her own campaign.

At the time, neither Morse nor Liot Hill would confirm that Morse had actually signed the original reports.

Liot Hill declined to respond to questions from NHJournal, including inquiries into whether she is currently under investigation for any of her campaign filings.

Liot Hill did not respond when contacted on Dec. 12 by NHJournal about the reports. Nor did the Secretary of State’s Office respond to NHJournal’s questions about the reports. The New Hampshire attorney general would not confirm or deny if an investigation is underway. Contacted Saturday, Morse said she has not been interviewed by anyone from the Attorney General’s Office.

The Executive Council’s job is to provide oversight of state spending on behalf of the taxpayers, which makes the issues surrounding Liot Hill particularly problematic, said New Hampshire GOP chair Chris Ager.

“For someone who must review state contracts, these reports are very disturbing.”

Manchester High School students dropped out at an alarming rate under former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig’s watch, but that isn’t stopping the state’s largest teacher’s union from backing her bid for governor.

According to data from the Manchester School District and the state Department of Education, while Craig was in office, the district’s drop out rate was more than four times higher than the state average. And about one in four students failed to graduate each year, much higher than the state average.

But the NEA-New Hampshire is still on board. Union president Meg Tuttle told her members Democrat Craig will spend more on public schools, get them pay raises, and end New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Account (EFA) school choice program.

“New Hampshire’s students and educators deserve a governor who will have their backs. That means adequately funding our public schools, fighting for pay raises for educators, and making sure every child in our state can thrive,” Tuttle said.

Granite State taxpayers are currently spending an average of more than $20,000 per public school student, higher than many private schools in the state.

Tuttle also praised Craig for pledging to “put an end to the state’s current voucher scheme that is gouging taxpayers,” a reference to the EFA program. With Republican Kelly Ayotte promising to keep the EFA program going, Tuttle and the teachers unions see Craig as the obvious choice.

But what about her record on student achievement? How did Manchester students perform while Craig was mayor?

Craig took office in January 2018 as both mayor and chair of the Manchester School Committee. In 2019, Manchester reported a total graduation rate 17 percent below the statewide average, 73.8 percent vs. 88.42 percent.

And while the state’s dropout rate was 2.74 percent, Manchester’s was more than four times higher at 12.44 percent.

Under Craig’s tenure, the numbers got worse.

Manchester reported graduation rates of 73.01 percent in 2020. The following year, 2021, was directly impacted by the COVID pandemic, and the graduation rate plummeted to 67.85. But even when the rate rebounded, it was still well below the state average of around 88 percent. It was 72.23 in 2022, and 72.97 percent in 2023, the most recent year of data available.

The dropout rates in 2020 were 10.45 percent, 13.26 percent in COVID-plagued 2021, 11.84 percent in 2022, and 12.99 percent in 2023. The state averages for dropout rates in those same years ranged from 2.4 to 3.4 percent.

On top of overseeing an expensive public school district that failed students and their families, Craig raised city taxes several times as mayor, and repeatedly tried to override the tax cap. Raising taxes to spend on public schools is part of Craig’s platform.

Craig, who has not taken the no income tax pledge, recently admitted she would push to bring back an income tax on interest and dividends if elected governor. She says that, despite record spending on public schools, New Hampshire needs the tax to spend even more.

Craig’s tax increase does have at least one fan in New Hampshire politics. U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen told radio host Jack Heath on Tuesday raising taxes is a solid idea.

“Well, nobody in New Hampshire likes taxes,” Shaheen said. “But if we want to fund our schools, if we want to have roads and bridges that we can drive on, if we want to have safe commerce, if we want to provide health care, then we have to raise revenue.”

Shaheen first won the governor’s office in 1996 by signing the no-new-taxes pledge. But she raised taxes as governor, which haunted her in her first failed bid for the U.S. Senate.

Ironically, Shaheen had to answer for her record on education in 2002. New Hampshire’s abysmal dropout rates under her watch helped sink her run. 

The Hudson woman who allegedly supplied former Democratic State Rep. Stacie Laughton with child sex abuse images is set to be freed from jail.

A federal judge ruled Lindsay Groves, 38, can remain out of jail pending her trial on charges of sexual exploitation of children, aiding and abetting, and distribution of child pornography so long as she meets certain conditions.

Laughton, 39, faces identical federal and state charges of distributing child sex abuse images. Laughton, who identifies as transgendered, is being held without bail in the male population at Valley Street Jail in Manchester.

A federal judge ruled last week that Groves can be released safely, meaning she would not be a danger to the community so long as she lives with her parents, has no contact with children, and does not use an iPhone or other internet-connected devices.

“Critically, however, the court finds that conditions of release can be fashioned to address this risk and reasonably assure the safety of the community,” the ruling states.

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston will appeal this order. Groves will remain locked up until another judge hears the appeal and rules on the potential release. Groves is also being held at the Valley Street Jail with the female population.

Investigators said Groves used her job at Creative Minds Daycare in Tyngsborough, Mass., to access young children for the graphic photos she shared with Laughton. Court records released in the case include a text conversation with a seeming admission from Laughton that the pair had raped children in the past and planned to do it again.

Groves and Laughton were arrested last month in the child sex abuse image case, a culmination of their twisted relationship. In recent years, the pair have been involved in multiple court cases and no contact orders. One case last year landed Laughton in jail for stalking Groves right after Laughton had won re-election to the legislature. According to the court records in the stalking case, Laughton was publicly calling Groves a pedophile and using social media to amplify that accusation.

As Laughton was receiving the child sex abuse photos from Groves, the disgraced lawmaker was engaging in sexually explicit text conversations with Groves about having sex with children, according to court records. Laughton started showing other people the photos being sent by Groves last month, and texting the photos to those people, according to the complaint filed in federal court. The people who got the photos were disturbed by the images and reported the matter to the police, according to the complaint.

Laughton became New Hampshire’s first elected transgender state representative in 2012 and was praised by New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley as part of the “backbone of the Granite State.”

Former Nashua Democratic State Rep. Stacie Laughton talked about raping children and appears to admit having committed the crime in the past, according to the federal complaint filed this week.

“I was asking because I know we’ve had some back-and-forth, and I know we initially said we do nothing with kids ever again, and you said you were afraid that if we had kids if they would go back and tell the parents the same with the kids you work with,” Laughton texted to lover and co-defendant, Lindsay Groves.

Investigators combed through 10,000 text messages between the pair this year as part of the child sex abuse image case that’s put them both behind bars for now. 

Prosecutors with the United States Attorney’s Office in Boston announced Laughton, 39, is now indicted on a federal charge for the sexual exploitation of children and faces up to 30 years in prison on that one count.

Grove, 36, was working at a Tyngsborough daycare where she allegedly took explicit photos of the children in her care and texted them to Laughton. The two discussed the photos and discussed sexually assaulting children, according to prosecutors.

“(A) preliminary forensic review of Groves’ cellphone allegedly revealed over 10,000 text messages between Laughton and Groves that included discussion about, and transfer of, explicit photographs that Groves had taken of children while employed at Creative Minds daycare – including at least four sexually explicit images of children who appear to be approximately three to five years old, as well as explicit descriptions of sex with each other and others, including children,” prosecutors said in a statement.

According to the complaint, Laughton and Grove discussed raping the children at the daycare facility. In one chilling exchange, they discussed how to get away with the horrific crime. Laughton maintained there was nothing wrong with sexually abusing children:

GROVES: You mentioned how I said I was afraid that the kids will run to the parents if we do it with them I wasn’t being serious

LAUGHTON: OK because like I get concerned about that cause I don’t wanna get caught if we do

GROVES: I was joking anyway and you took me serious

LAUGHTON: Oh I know but I just don’t wanna get in trouble. I mean I want to do what we want to do because we like it and we approve of it but others think this is wrong. Lots of parents don’t like people touching their kids and it is against the law …”

Laughton is currently being held without bail on state charges connected to the case. The former state representative will be arranged in the federal court in Boston at a later date. Groves is being held without bail on federal charges brought last month.

Laughton became New Hampshire’s first transgender elected official in 2012, but the most significant history the Nashua Democrat has made is as a criminal. 

Laughton was forced to resign from the House in 2012 after it was learned the newly-elected representative was still on probation on a felony theft charge. Laughton has also been charged with stalking and making bomb threats.

 After regaining the seat in 2020 and winning reelection in 2022, Laughton spent weeks in jail after being charged with stalking and harassing Groves, according to court records. 

Laughton and Groves have a disturbing history of their own. Laughton reportedly harassed Groves and her family off and on for years. After being arrested last year for harassing Groves, Laughton was accused of using a local radio show and social media accounts to stalk Groves and repeatedly called 911 to report Groves was suicidal, according to court records. At one point during this campaign of harassment, Laughton referred to Groves as “wife,” though there is no record that they were legally married.

As part of the harassment case, Laughton is alleged to have repeatedly tried to get Groves fired from her job at the daycare and called Groves a pedophile on social media and on her radio program, according to court records.

Federal prosecutors say members of the public with questions, concerns, or information regarding this case should call 617 748 3274. Case information, including links to charging documents and victim resources, can also be found here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/victim-and-witness-assistance-program/united-states-v-lindsay-groves 

Embattled Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave is accusing County Commission Chair George Maglaras of being a racist for allegedly calling the state’s first African American sheriff a “token.”

Brave told the Rochester Voice Maglaras called him “the token Black guy, and the token’s gonna be up soon.”

Brave is under investigation by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office Public Integrity Unit for allegedly using public money to pay for a Florida trip with a female employee who is not his wife. Brave took the unusual step of revealing news of the investigation to the press, something typically not done unless and until charges are filed.

Brave insists the investigation is a result of political bullying by Maglaras and the other commissioners, Robert Watson and Deanna Rollo. Brave and the three commissioners are all Democrats. Brave insists he is a victim of the commission’s political persecution because he will not give in to their pressure.

Reading the public commission meeting minutes sheds some light on the tension between the commissioners and Brave, and the “political bullying” revolves around money. The commission, led by Maglaras, initially blocked Brave’s attempts to buy a Harley Davidson motorcycle for his department this spring. The reason given: Brave’s poor financial management.

Brave’s department has an annual budget of more than $3 million, and Brave’s spending of taxpayer dollars is already outpacing his approved allocation, according to Maglaras’s comments during the May 4 meeting.

“Chairman Maglaras acknowledged (the motorcycle) was listed in the 2023 budget, but is unsure how to justify the expense when the Sheriff’s Office budget is already over expended again,” the meeting minutes stated.

Though the board initially balked at the expense, the motorcycle purchase was approved last month on the condition Brave gets his financial house in order. If he doesn’t, the commission promised they would. 

“(T)he Commissioners agreed to the purchase and that if the Sheriff’s budget is not brought in line with the approved budget, they would look for other items to make up the difference,” the June 8 meeting minutes stated.

Until recently, Brave had additional income from a lucrative contract between his department and Frisbee Memorial Hospital, where Brave’s wife, Jamie, was Frisbie’s former Chief Nursing Officer at the time.

According to Brave, the commission’s probe into his department started soon after his wife was arrested for DUI in December. NHJournal uncovered the fact Brave was in the car at the time of the arrest and was too intoxicated to drive himself. 

“After her arrest, the commissioners took it upon themselves to hire MRI to do a private probe,” Brave told the Rochester Voice. “They tried to say I used my office to get her off, and I was driving and switched (seats) with her. There were rumors I was PC’d, that I was arrested.”

Brave denied he was driving the night of his wife’s arrest. A police report obtained by NHJournal indicated a police officer drove him to a friend’s house and released him to the friend’s custody, given his level of intoxication.

Maglaras is reportedly a witness to the MRI probe and, presumably, the criminal investigation. Brave is now claiming Maglaras spread a false story that Brave lied about his whereabouts on the night of the arrest. Brave told the Rochester Voice he never claimed to be home with his children while his wife was driving drunk, even though he says that is the story Maglaras told.

Brave also has the advantage of some powerful political allies. He is represented by the influential and well-connected Democratic law firm of Shaheen and Gordon — the “Shaheen” being Billy Shaheen, husband of U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

And despite the open investigation, Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington still lists Brave on the endorsements page of her Warmington for Governor website.

Rep. Aidan Ankarberg (R-Rochester) said he and other members of the Strafford County delegation are being kept in the dark about Brave and the investigations, as is the public. Given the fact that three elected members of the county commission are involved in investigating the elected sheriff, people have a right to know what is going on, Ankarberg argued.

“I certainly have many doubts about the integrity of the elected officials in Strafford County and their behavior, and I imagine many other residents feel the same way. We need transparency and fast,” Anakberg said.

Anakberg is also troubled by the allegation that Maglaras called Brave a “token,” and people need to know the truth about what was said or not said.

“The matter involving the alleged use of the phrase ‘token Black guy’ harkens back to Andru Volinsky referring to Ryan Terrell using the same phrase when he dared to enter the public policy arena and join the Board of Education. Same words, why would there be a different outcome?” Anakberg said.

Volinsky was then running in the Democratic primary for governor and saw his support crater following that incident. The state’s NAACP chastised Volinsky for the comments. He soon issued a public apology before going on to lose the primary to Dan Feltes.

It was a hot Thursday morning at the PorcFest Pavilion in Lancaster, and as hundreds waited in the sun to see Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the air was thick with excitement.

And pot.

And the scents that come with the presence of a large number of dogs.

It also didn’t help that the central bathroom with showers, located near the Norse pagan spiritual village, was out of order. The adjacent port-a-potties were also shut. It was hoped that would all be fixed before Thursday night’s scheduled free couples shower event. 

This was the environment RFK Jr. stepped into when he showed up for Porcfest, the Free State Project’s annual gathering in the White Mountains. Once he took the stage, the air was full of something else familiar at FSP gatherings: Anti-government conspiracy theories.

Kennedy’s appearance at this libertarian event upset Democrats like New Hampshire state party chairman Ray Buckley, who sent the Democratic presidential candidate a plea not to participate.

“Free Staters are nearly universally Republican primary voters; they are highly unlikely to vote in the Democratic Primary,” Buckley wrote. “Free Staters view with hostility our candidates, elected officials, values, and our party as a whole.”

Given the hostility Kennedy’s candidacy has received from his fellow Democrats — including candidates and elected officials — that latter point may have been moot.

And if the state Democratic Party wasn’t thrilled by RFK Jr. showing up at PorcFest, not every Free Stater was happy about it, either. Kennedy’s security requirements involved a ban on firearms in the Pavilion, no small feat at an event that often appears to be a walking gun show.

Guns are everywhere at PorcFest. People brought their AR-15s to the dog meet-up (though there was a conspicuous lack of doggie clean-up bags). They wore rifles on slings when grilling burgers or buying tacos. And so, while Kennedy spoke, there was a small pro-gun protest about 100 yards away at the self-declared “grassy knoll.”

It was a joke that could be considered offensive to a Kennedy family member, except that RFK Jr. believes a government-backed conspiracy murdered his uncle.

And while Kennedy and the FSP crowd may have disagreed on guns, they found plenty of common ground on the overall premise that government is a major part of America’s problems.

In his speech, Kennedy rolled through a tale of CIA operations to create bioweapons, totalitarian attempts to subvert the Constitution, Microsoft founder Bill Gates working behind the scenes with Dr. Anthony Fauci to create a fake vaccine — with a couple of side trips through the dangers of the Patriot Act.

And, because he is Kennedy, there was a long discourse on environmental law administrative proceedings.

Former Democratic state Rep. Andrew O’Hearne may have crossed the line when he reportedly told Claremont Department of Public Works (DPW) employees how to do their job. Now he is facing possible expulsion from the city council. 

According to city communications, O’Hearne was upset with how a DPW crew painted lines on his street. So he intimidated the crew members, telling them what to do and why they better do it.

“(O’Hearne) informed them that a police commissioner was on his way to review the area and that he had a ‘big stick’ and did not mind ‘stirring the pot,'” City Manager Yoshi Manale wrote in an email about the May 11 incident.

O’Hearne, who has been on the Claremont City Council for several years, is scheduled for a June 21 hearing before the council to determine what happened last month when he confronted city employees, Mayor Dale Girard said.

“The worst that could happen is he could be removed from his seat if we feel he interfered with city employees,” Girard said.

Council members in Claremont, as in nearly every other municipality in New Hampshire, are barred from directing city employees in any way. Having spent decades as a Claremont police officer, a policy O’Hearne should have been aware of.

O’Hearne did not respond to a request for comment.

According to the email from Manale to council members first obtained by journalist Jim Sullivan, the DPW crew members said they were being harassed by O’Hearne, who did not like how they were directing traffic. At one point, O’Hearne said he would stay in the road and videotape the crew, according to Manale.

Police were called to the site and determined there was no problem with traffic, Police Chief Brent Wilmot told NH Journal. Manale was finally able to convince O’Hearne to go home. But the manager told council members the matter needs to be addressed.

“The councilor’s actions … were not appropriate and disruptive to the work of our DPW,” Manale wrote.

Manale initially wanted O’Hearne to apologize. The council instead decided to hold a hearing to determine the next course of action, which could include removal.

O’Hearne spent a decade as a state representative before losing his seat last November by fewer than 50 votes, with Republican Walter Stapleton defeating him.

If he is removed, O’Hearne would be the second Claremont city councilor forced off by the council this year. In February, Councilor Jim Contois was removed by a council vote after he allegedly called the police to get a no-trespass order against him lifted.

Contois, an environmental activist, was hit with the order by a local car dealership after the councilor went to the dealer’s property to document wetlands on the lot. Contois maintained he never asked Wilmot to lift the order, he just asked about how the order was enforced. 

After he was removed, Contois filed a lawsuit against the council, demanding he be reinstated. The council settled the lawsuit in April and voted to rescind Contois’ expulsion and restore his council membership.

New Hampshire House Speaker Sherm Packard (R-Londonderry) has ordered an investigation into tactics being used by House Democrats to pressure members over Thursday’s vote on parental rights legislation. Some of those tactics, including offering to pay for a member’s plane ticket for a flight from Florida, appear to violate House rules and, possibly, state law.

“We are looking into the matter, and we are concerned about the appearance of impropriety. Should there be evidence of a statutory or ethical violation, it will be referred to the appropriate enforcement authority,” Packard’s office said in a statement. 

At the center of the controversy is SB272, also known as the Parents Bill of Rights, which would force some public schools to end their current policy of refusing to answer parents’ questions about their children’s behavior regarding sex and gender.

“It says that schools and school employees cannot lie to parents,” said state Sen. Tim Lang (R-Sanbornton) when the bill passed the upper chamber in a 14-10 vote.

Now the bill is coming to the House, setting off a round of fear and loathing in Concord with Democrats offering carrots (in the form of a free plane ticket) and sticks: threatening a primary challenge if a House member supports the parents’ rights bill or fails to show up for the vote.

When Rep. Robin Vogt (D-Portsmouth) took to Twitter to say he was on a long-planned family vacation and won’t be in Concord to vote against SB272, Granite State progressives responded angrily.

“There is no one who supports a work/life balance more than me — but real allies show up,” tweeted Monica Venzke, until recently a spokesperson for the state Democratic Party. “Session ends in June. When you were elected, you knew that. These are the responsibilities you take on as a legislator; clearly, you cannot handle them.”

And progressive activist Linds Jakows told Vogt he had no excuse to miss Thursday’s session, as money is available to fly him back to New Hampshire in time to vote.

“No. It is a luxury to actively choose to be in Florida for nearly a week now when there are funds to fly you to New Hampshire and back,” Jakows wrote to Vogt in a now-deleted tweet.

Jakows is head of 603Equality, an LGBTQ nonprofit which is not registered as a lobbyist with the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s Office, and it appears she’s offering something of value to a lawmaker to encourage him to vote. Not surprisingly, 603Equality’s behavior sparked concerns.

“I am outraged that an unregistered Democrat lobbying organization would offer to fund travel expenses for a legislator in order to influence the outcome of a vote,” said House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn). “The ease at which this was offered leads us to believe that offers like Jakows’ seem to be the norm on the other side of the aisle.

“This is an example of Washington-style politics at its worst and does not represent Granite State values,” Osborne added.

It could also be a crime. Legal sources pointed NHJournal to New Hampshire’s criminal codes 640:2 “Bribery in Official and Political Matters;” and 640:5 “Gifts to Public Servants.”

Jakows declined to respond to questions from NHJournal regarding the source of these “funds” to pay for legislators’ travel or whether other lawmakers are getting funding as well. In a follow-up tweet, Jakows claimed a group of concerned community members was crowdfunding the money, though Jakows would not say who those people were.

“How many members of the New Hampshire House Democrats will be there tomorrow to vote against parental rights because a lobbying group paid for them to be there?” asked Rep. Ross Berry (R-Manchester). “Probably worth finding out.”

Thus far, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office is staying out of the drama, saying Wednesday it is currently a matter of the Speaker’s Office.

Meanwhile, House Democrats are also being threatened by a representative of one of the state’s largest teacher’s unions, who warned not showing up or voting the wrong way could result in a primary challenge.

“ANY @NHSenateDems and @NHHouseDems who do not make a point to show up to vote NO on #SB272 and stand UP for young #queer lives on the line do not deserve our support,” tweeted Ryan Richman, vice president of the state chapter of the American Federation of Teachers. “Especially if they primaried out @NHDems that showed up to protect Granite Staters from evil.”

Vogt pushed out long-time Democratic Rep. Jacqueline Cali-Pitts in last year’s Democratic primary and won favor with the AFT. The union endorsed him in the general election.

Vogt now faces the prospect of being pushed to take dark money plane tickets, which may or may not be legal, and could be made an example of by his union benefactors and see his political career cut short.

What is unique about Vogt’s drama is the public display of the pressure brought to bear on one representative, leaving voters to guess how many other representatives were being threatened and offered financial benefits behind closed doors. Or at least off Twitter.

Vogt, still vacationing, did not respond to a request for comment.