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The attorney for the Bow, N.H., school district compared free speech to “poison” in his argument before a federal court Wednesday.

Jonathan Shirley, attorney for SAU 67, is defending the district’s decision to ban parents from wearing pink wristbands marked with “XX” in a silent protest of biological males in girls sports.

The district’s actions were upheld by United States District Court Judge Stephen McAuliffe in a controversial ruling that appeared to defend the government’s right to discriminate against speech based on viewpoint. In his ruling, McAuliffe labeled wearing the pink XX wristbands as a form of “assault” on people who identify as transgender. 

Parents Anthony Foote, Kyle Fellers, Nicole Foote, and Eldon Rash are appealing the decision, which was heard by a three-judge panel at the federal courthouse in Boston.

The Bow High School principal and the school’s athletic director ordered the protesting parents removed. They were later issued no-trespass orders, barring them from school property.

The parents want to be able to engage in silent protests at high school games. But Shirley told the court the potential danger presented by middle-aged parents wearing wristbands is too great.

“You know, poison is often determined by the dose,” Shirley said of their right to protest. “We’re talking about future events where we don’t have an understanding of how many people are going to be showing up with these wristbands.”

Del Kolde, the lawyer with the Institute for Free Speech representing the parents, promptly replied: “Your Honors, free speech is not poison.”

The judges were clearly puzzled by — if not outright hostile to — the district’s claims that speech that offended others or hurt their feelings should not be protected by the First Amendment.

The school district has openly engaged in viewpoint discrimination, acknowledging that pro-LGBT messaging would be allowed, but not the pink wristbands. It argues that its policy is legal due to its fear that the protest would get out of control and lead to players feeling bad about themselves.

“The school district should have the ability to step in and say, ‘Listen, we think we know where this is going. We need to stop you now,” Shirley told the justices. 

While schools have a legal obligation to protect students from harassment, they cannot be given the authority to stop protests in case they might become disruptive and lead to harassment, Kolde argued. That would allow government entities to shut down any speech they dislike.

“It essentially becomes a get out of jail free card for viewpoint discrimination,” Kodel said. “People are just going to complain and say, ‘I feel harassed by that message’ when they disagree with the message, when they don’t want it to be heard. And that will lead to much more censorship in the First District.”

The wristband protest took place a week after a federal court judge ruled in favor of transgender Plymouth High School student Parker Tirrell. Tirrell challenged the 2024 New Hampshire law banning biological boys from playing on girls’ sports teams and, on Sept. 10, 2024, won the right to play soccer on the Plymouth girls’ team. The Foote’s, Rash, and Fellers were protesting at the Bow game against Plymouth as Tirrell was on the field. 

Case records show that SAU 67 Superintendent Marcy Kelley and other officials were not concerned about a disruptive protest; they simply did not want any protest of any kind against transgender athletes, Kolde said. Kelley testified last year that she believes the XX wristbands convey an “exclusionary” message against transgender athletes competing with girls, something she could not allow. At the same time, Kelly said pro-LGBTQ symbols like rainbow flags are fine since she deems them to be “inclusionary.” But Kelley isn’t allowed to pick and choose what people say in public, Kodel told the justices.

Justices Sandra Lynch, Julie Rikelman, and Jefferey Howard seemed to accept Kolde’s argument that SAU 67 overstepped the constitution when officials directed the parents to take off the armbands. They also questioned if the district’s fear that the protests would get out of hand is enough legal justification to curb free speech rights.

Lynch pointed out that school officials actually caused a disruption when they confronted the parents at the game, but Shirley tried to blame the parents.

“The disruption was their refusal to follow the directive (to remove the armbands),” Shirley said.

“If the directive was unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination, then you have a problem,” Lynch responded.

The parents should be allowed to engage in silent, non-disruptive protests, Kodle said, even if school officials do not like the message.

“We don’t all have to agree on transgender issues, but if we’re going to get along in a pluralistic society, people have to be allowed to quietly express their views on terms equal to other parents. We all know that if they had worn pride flags and wristbands, we wouldn’t be here today,” Kolde said.

New Hampshire’s first elected transgender-identifying state House member, Democrat Stacie Marie Laughton of Nashua, won’t have a happy Halloween this year.

Laughton, 41, born Barry Laughton, is set to appear in the United States District Court in Boston on Friday for a change of plea hearing in the child sex abuse image case that’s had him locked up for more than two years.

The Friday court date will likely see Laughton plead guilty to at least one of the three serious felony indictments against him.

The Halloween plea hearing comes weeks after his accomplice and lover, Lindsay Groves, 40, pleaded guilty for her role in the couple’s sick scheme. Groves used her position at a Massachusetts daycare to take explicit photos of the children she was supposed to be watching. Some of the victims were as young as three. Those photos were then shared via text message between the couple, who discussed raping children and hiding their crimes from the parents in thousands of grotesque notes.

Court records give a hint of the horrific Groves and Laughton Laughton relationship. In one text message, Laughton said there is nothing wrong with sexually abusing children.

“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 wrote in one exchange.

In another message, Laughton seems to admit to raping a child with Groves.

“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 Groves.

Earlier this month, Groves pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of distribution of child pornography. Each count of sexual exploitation of a child carries a possible 15 to 30 years prison sentence. Groves could get another 20 years for the distribution of child pornography charge. Groves has a sentencing hearing set for February. 

Laughton is supposed to go on trial next week on three felony charges of the sexual exploitation of children. If the case does go to a jury, Groves would likely be a prosecution witness under her plea deal.

Groves took the plea deal after failing in her quest to be deemed too incompetent to stand trial. Groves and her legal team fought for more than a year to get her diagnosed as too mentally impaired to understand the charges or help in her own defense. But United States District Court Judge Dennis Saylor rejected that argument after hearing from defense and prosecution mental health experts. While Groves is mentally and emotionally handicapped, she knows what she is doing, Saylor ruled.

“In short, (Groves) has repeatedly shown that despite her many limitations, she is capable of ordered thinking and rational communication, and that she has the ability to navigate reasonably complex situations, including obtaining higher education and holding employment for extended periods. She understands the essential nature and potential consequences of the alleged crime, and can provide meaningful assistance to her defense,” Saylor wrote. 

Though Laughton was accepted by the New Hampshire Democratic Party as transgendered when he ran for office — state party chair Ray Buckley celebrated him as part of “the backbone of New Hampshire” — he does not seem to be living as a female in any other aspect of his life. Away from his political persona as a transgender woman, Laughton was married for many years to biological woman Lisa Laughton, his alleged co-conspirator in a 2008 fraud case. Laughton additionally conducted a long-term sexual relationship with Groves, also a biological woman.

The criminal justice system seems to agree with the gender Laughton maintains in his private life. The Federal Bureau of Prisons lists Laughton as a male who was last in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., as of this month. He was also kept with other men inside Valley Street Jail immediately after the June 2023 arrest.

Bad news for former state Democratic Rep. Stacie Marie Laughton and romantic partner Lindsay Groves, as a federal judge cleared the way for the pair to go on trial in their shocking child sex abuse images case.

In an order issued last week, Massachusetts District Court Judge Dennis Saylor rejected defense arguments that Groves, 40, is mentally incompetent to stand trial. With questions about Groves’ intelligence and her ability to understand the charges now out of the way, the trials are scheduled for November.

Both Laughton and Groves have been in federal custody since their arrests more than two years ago. Groves is alleged to have used her position as a daycare center employee to take nude photos of young children and text them to Laughton for their shared sexual gratification. 

Groves was deemed incompetent to stand trial last year by Dr. Tina Adams, an independent clinical and forensic psychologist hired by the defense. According to Adams, Groves is severely limited intellectually, easily manipulated, and unable to understand the charges against her to assist in her own defense.

But Dr. Lauren Schumacher, a forensic psychologist employed by the Bureau of Prisons, reports that despite her limitations, Groves obtained an associate’s degree in early-childhood education from New Hampshire Community College, held down steady jobs, and was able to understand how the court system works. 

Schumacher’s report additionally found that Adams scored Groves incorrectly in one of the key assessment exams, which led to her incompetent decision. 

Saylor reviewed the reports done by Adams and Schumacher earlier this year before ruling that Groves can indeed go on trial.

“In short, [Groves] has repeatedly shown that despite her many limitations, she is capable of ordered thinking and rational communication, and that she has the ability to navigate reasonably complex situations, including obtaining higher education and holding employment for extended periods. She understands the essential nature and potential consequences of the alleged crime, and can provide meaningful assistance to her defense. Accordingly … the Court concludes that, notwithstanding her limitations, she is competent to stand trial,” Saylor wrote.

Laughton, 41, of Nashua, became a star attraction in the state Democratic Party as New Hampshire’s first transgender person elected to the legislature. State party chair Ray Buckley even gave Laughton a shoutout as one of the “LGBTQIA+ Democrats who are the backbone of the Granite State,” despite the legislator’s criminal record at the time.

Born Barry Laughton, the historic 2012 election win was short-lived as past criminal convictions soon came to light. Laughton was forced out of office weeks after the 2012 election when it was revealed he was still on probation for a felony theft charge. Laughton was subsequently charged with stalking and making bomb threats.

Laughton’s gender identity as a transgender woman has never been straightforward. It was not clear how far Laughton’s medical transition had progressed. Laughton appears to be balding with many masculine features, though the convicted felon wears makeup and clothing traditionally identified with women. 

Laughton was married for many years to Lisa Laughton, the alleged co-conspirator in the 2008 fraud case that resulted in the felony conviction that temporarily derailed Laughton’s political career. Laughton also conducted a long-term sexual relationship with Groves. Both Groves and Lisa Laughton are biological women. 

Laughton and Groves have a long-standing and volatile relationship. In 2022, Laughton was charged with harassing Groves and her family, costing Laughton a seat in the legislature. Laughton was arrested in November 2022 for stalking Groves, shortly after winning reelection to the House. Laughton was jailed for weeks until the House Democratic Caucus forced a resignation.

It came out in the stalking case that Laughton had called the police to report that Groves was abusing children at the daycare, though that was believed to have been part of the ongoing harassment.

Laughton is alleged to have repeatedly tried to get Groves fired from her job at the daycare, claiming Groves was a pedophile. Laughton reported Groves to police, as well as making the accusation on social media and on Laughton’s radio program, according to court records.

However, according to the federal case, Laughton and Groves were simpatico after the stalking case was resolved without a jail sentence. Groves started sending the photos to Laughton, and the two had disgusting conversations via text about the images and their own sexual desires. 

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 …”

In another exchange, Laughton seems to admit to raping a child with Groves

“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 Groves.

Laughton and Groves were being held pre-trial at the Valley Street Jail in Manchester on state charges soon after their original arrests. But the pair have since been moved into federal custody. Representatives with the United States Attorney’s Office in Boston declined to confirm their present location.

The fight over Nashua’s City Hall Plaza flagpole isn’t over as residents Beth and Stephen Scaer filed an appeal with the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston this week, arguing the city is abusing the law to get away with First Amendment violations.

The Scaers, represented by the Institute for Free Speech, took Nashua to court last year after city officials denied them permission to fly an ‘Appeal to Heaven’ Pine Tree flag on City Hall’s “Citizens’ Flag Pole.” According to the lawsuit, the city used vague language in its 2022 flagpole policy to deny the request.

In March, United States District Court Judge Landya McCafferty ruled against the couple. In her ruling, McCafferty agreed with Magistrate Judge Talesha Saint-Marc’s December report on the case which argued the city is exempt from First Amendment considerations thanks to the flagpole policy that defined the pole as government property. 

“[Saint-Marc] correctly found that the undisputed facts indicate that the flags displayed on the Citizen Flag Pole pursuant to Nashua’s 2022 Flagpole Policy constituted government speech not regulated by the First Amendment,” McCafferty wrote.

But Nathan Ristuccia and Endel Kolde, the attorneys representing the Scaers, say in their appeal that Nashua is simply using government speech rules to engage in viewpoint discrimination.

“Nashua officials believe that they can manipulate government speech doctrine to subsidize viewpoints that they like and discriminate against citizens whose views they disfavor, Ristuccia and Kolde write. “The City has sought to maintain a Citizen Flag Pole in front of City Hall as a forum for favored constituents, while using its written policies to create a superficial appearance of compliance with controlling precedent. But the city discriminates against minority and dissenting views—exactly those views that need First Amendment protection.”

From 2017 through to 2022, Nashua allowed residents to fly flags at the City Hall Plaza with no written policy for oversight or content restriction. After the city of Boston lost a United States Supreme Court case for banning a Christian group’s flag from its citizens’ City Hall flag pole, Nashua created a written policy to give officials veto power over citizens’ flags. In so doing, according to McCafferty’s ruling, Nashua transformed the flagpole from being a free speech zone, into a government speech zone.

But Ristuccia and Kolde point out that Nashua rejected flags it did not like before the 2022 policy was written.

“Both before and after the formation of the 2022 policy, Nashua officials rejected flags whose messages they disfavored,” Ristuccia and Kolde write.

According to the AmericanFlags.com website, the Appeal to Heaven flag was designed by Colonel Joseph Reed, who served as the personal secretary to George Washington. Originally commissioned for use on six military cruiser ships, the flag was adopted on October 21, 1775. It became the official Massachusetts Navy flag in 1776.”

The pine tree was a symbol of New England and its wealth of natural resources in colonial America. The “Appeal to Heaven” message is a reference to British philosopher John Locke, whose writings on self government greatly influenced the founders.

The Scaers wanted to fly the Appeal to Heaven flag to commemorate Granite Staters who fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the opening days of the Revolutionary War. But the city rejected their application on the grounds that the Pine Tree flag “is not in harmony with the message that the City wishes to express and endorse.”

Nashua has allowed residents to fly flags celebrating different religious sects, nationalities, and sexual identities for years. However, Nashua began to take a dim view of some flags, especially those proposed by the Scaers.

Beth Scaer got permission to fly a “Save Women’s Sports flag” for one week in 2020, but it was removed after 24 hours and city staff told her it was “transphobic.”

Stephen Scaer applied to fly a “Detransitioner Awareness Flag” in 2024 to commemorate people who reverse their sex change procedures. He was also told that the symbol “is not in harmony with the message that the City wishes to express and endorse.”

City Attorney Jonathan Barnes argued in court that flying the Pine Tree flag was akin to displaying a Nazi symbol on Hitler’s birthday.

“I mean, [Ristuccia] would have you believe that we can raise the Nazi flag to commemorate Hitler’s birthday. I think that’s totally unreasonable, and it certainly wouldn’t be in the city’s best interests to do that,” Barnes said in court.

The Pine Tree flag is a patriotic symbol with a history with links to the 1772 Pine Tree Riot in Weare, N.H. It was one of the earliest acts of rebellion against British authority in the American colonies, and predates the Boston Tea Party. The dispute, over enforcement of British laws restricting the use of valuable white pine trees, resulted in a group of local men storming the inn in Weare where representatives of the British government were staying and driving them out of town.

The flag was a popular symbol of resistance among New England colonists and its use spread through the Continental Army. George Washington had the flag flown from schooners commissioned for the war.

But, recently, the flag has also been adopted by some right-wing extremists. The flag is used by some in the Christian Dominionist sphere who advocate overthrowing democracy in order to create a Christian theocratic form of government.

Jurors found a former Manchester teacher who solicited sex with a child during work hours guilty Thursday on one count of attempted sex trafficking of a minor.

Stacey Lancaster, 46, a Navy veteran and Manchester West High School’s lead NJROTC teacher, was busted last year as part of a federal sting operation nabbing several men. Lancaster was arrested in the parking lot of the Manchester Econo Lodge where he thought he was meeting a child’s pimp.

Lancaster was fired by the school district shortly after his arrest. His trial started this week in the United States District Court in Concord.

Federal agents set up a sting last year, using an online ad to draw out men interested in sex with children, according to court records. Lancaster responded to the ad while at work and engaged in a text conversation with an undercover agent.

Lancaster texted back and forth online with someone offering up two young girls for paid sex. Lancaster was first given the choice of the 12-year-old, but seemed incredulous at the girl’s photo.

“Did you say she’s 12? Are you being serious? That’s really bad if it’s true,” Lancaster texted after seeing the child’s photo, according to court records.

The pimp offered a 14-year-old girl to Lancaster instead, but Lancaster decided to go with the 12-year-old, and agreed to pay $100. He finished up his work at the high school that afternoon, and a short time later went to the Manchester hotel to meet the pimp and the girl, according to court records. 

In the hotel parking lot, Lancaster frisked the pimp to make sure there was now hidden police microphone, and then proceeded to close the deal. That’s when agents with Homeland Security Investigations and Manchester Police pounced, taking Lancaster into custody on attempted sex trafficking charges.

Lancaster is the latest New Hampshire school employee recently busted for inappropriate behavior with children.

• A Portsmouth High School assistant track coach is being accused of paying for sex with an underage girl who was actually an undercover officer.
• The superintendent of the Sanborn Regional School District just announced he’s resigning after the arrest of a special education teacher who was allegedly abusing children on his watch.
• A Claremont Middle School teacher was recently arrested for violating a restraining order requiring her to stay away from a 14-year-old boy.
• A former substitute teacher from the Bedford school district was charged with possession of child sex abuse images.

Opponents of GOP-backed parents’ rights legislation currently working its way through the State House argue teachers and school staff should be allowed to have information about students’ behavior regarding sex and gender that is denied to parents. State House Democrats have repeatedly argued adult teachers and students should be allowed to share secrets because parents can’t be trusted with that information. Parents might harm — or even kill — their children if they are allowed to know what teachers do, Democrats say.

Supporters of parents’ rights point to the significant number of cases of criminal behavior by teachers to remind lawmakers that teachers are no more or less trustworthy than parents.

Lancaster will be sentenced at a later date in federal court.

President Donald Trump’s anti-DEI agenda hit a road bump Thursday as United States District Court Judge Landya McCafferty issued a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from punishing schools for DEI curriculum.

McCafferty, a Barack Obama appointee who sits in New Hampshire, kicked off her 85-page ruling by arguing that Trump’s anti-DEI push is totalitarian.

“‘[T]he right to speak freely and to promote diversity of ideas and programs is… one of the chief distinctions that sets us apart from totalitarian regimes.’ Terminiello v. City of Chicago, 337 U.S. 1, 4 (1949). In this case, the court reviews action by the executive branch that threatens to erode these foundational principles,” McCafferty wrote.

McCafferty’s ruling was one of three issued in separate courts ruling against the Trump administration’s attempt to end race-based policies implemented in the name of “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” (DEI).

The injunction stems from Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s February letter to schools — formally known as a “Dear Colleague” letter — directing the removal of DEI content. Institutions that did not comply were threatened with the loss of federal funds. The National Educators Association and the NEA’s New Hampshire branch brought a lawsuit against the anti-DEI order, along with the Center for Black Educator Development.

“For many schools, loss of federal funding would be crippling. It is predictable—if not obvious— that such schools will eliminate all vestiges of DEI to avoid even the possibility of funding termination,” McCafferty wrote.

McMahon’s letter defines DEI as programs that “teach students that certain racial groups bear unique moral burdens that others do not” and/or “stigmatize students who belong to racial groups.”

But McCafferty found the DEI prohibition outlined in McMahon’s letter and follow-up communications from the federal Department of Education (DOE) demonstrate that the anti-DEI order is vague, unconstitutional, and unenforceable.

“Although the 2025 Letter does not make clear what exactly it prohibits, it makes at least one thing clear: schools should not come close to anything that could be considered ‘DEI,’ lest they be deemed to have guessed wrong in violation of the 2025 Letter’s vague and expansive prohibitions,” McCafferty wrote. 

Under the vague DEI definition in McMahon’s letter and subsequent DOE’s communications, an elementary school teacher promoting “The Golden Rule,” a high school history teacher giving a lesson on the rise of the KKK in the aftermath of the Civil War, or a literature teacher assigning work based on the novels  “To Kill A Mockingbird” or “Heart of Darkness” could all potentially be punished, McCafferty wrote. 

“DEI as a concept is broad: one can imagine a wide range of viewpoints on what the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion mean when describing a program or practice. It is no surprise that several courts— including this one—have struck down similar laws as void for vagueness,” McMahon wrote.

The Trump administration showed no sign of backing down.

“Any judge objecting to this effort is making a mockery of the Constitution they swore an oath to uphold,” White House spokesman Harrison Fields said in a statement.

Attorneys for the Trump administration argued McMahon wasn’t announcing a DEI ban, but instead advising schools against engaging in racial discrimination. McCafferty was not convinced, especially since the DOE created an “End DEI” portal on its website following the letter’s publication.

McCafferty stops short of issuing a national injunction, as the plaintiffs sought. Nor does she limit the injunction to New Hampshire as the government requested. Instead, McCafferty’s injunction applies to any school or entity that employs members of the NEA or the Center for Black Educator Development.

This isn’t McCafferty’s first high-profile ruling. Earlier this year, she sided with the City of Nashua in a lawsuit over its policy of banning flags from its “citizens’ flagpole” that city officials deemed inappropriate, including the Pine Tree flag that is part of New Hampshire’s Revolutionary history.

The City of Nashua did not violate the First Amendment when it rejected resident Beth Scaer’s application to fly the Pine Tree “Appeal to Heaven” flag at city hall, a federal judge ruled this week. But a free speech organization representing Scaer says the fight is far from over.

Magistrate Judge Talesha Saint-Marc issued a report on Monday to Chief District Judge Landya McCafferty recommending the court deny Scaer’s request for an injunction against the city. Scaer was seeking the preliminary injunction to prevent Nashua officials from denying their flag permit applications, or closing down the public flag program.

After being slapped with a lawsuit over free speech violations for refusing to allow Scaer to fly the historic Pine Tree Flag, Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess quietly pulled down the city’s flagpole policy entirely.

Nathan Ristuccia, an attorney with the Free Speech Institute representing Scaer, called Saint-Marc’s report disappointing, but added it’s not the final word in the case. He plans to file objections to Saint-Marc’s report in the coming days.

“Although we are disappointed with the magistrate judge’s recommendation against the preliminary injunction, this is just one early step in the legal process for defending our client’s First Amendment rights,” Ristuccia said. 

Saint-Marc found that since Nashua’s original flag display policy explicitly states the venue is not a place for absolute free expression, city officials are not violating anyone’s rights when they choose to reject some flags. 

“During the time period relevant to the Scaers’ claims, Nashua maintained a written flagpole policy with identifiable guidelines of what it wished to communicate through the flags displayed on the Citizen Flag Pole,” Saint-Marc wrote. “The 2022 Flagpole Policy stated that the ‘potential use of a City flag pole is not intended to serve as a forum for free expression by the public.’”

Scaer’s attorneys argue having a policy doesn’t free the city from illegally practicing viewpoint discrimination.

Scaer filed her lawsuit against Nashua in September, claiming she was denied the ability to fly the historic Pine Tree flag at City Hall’s “Citizen’s Flag Pole.” According to Scaer’s lawsuit, the city used its vague policy to deny her request. The flag’s origins are linked to events in 1772 in the town of Weare, N.H. Colonists staged a pre-Revolution act of defiance against British rule. Scaer planned to fly the flag to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill.

But Saint-Marc again sided with Nashua when she noted that different symbols, like the Pine Tree flag, can have multiple meanings. In this case, the Pine Tree flag could be considered a symbol of the far right as much as a symbol of the Revolutionary War, she wrote.

“The record also indicates that the flag was used during the Jan. 6, 2020 attack on the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.”

Scaer’s supporters are quick to note that far more U.S. flags were flown by rioters that day, and the American flag currently flies outside Nashua City Hall.

Representing the City of Nashua before Saint-Marc last month, attorney Jonathan Barnes compared flying the Pine Tree flag to displaying a Nazi symbol on Hitler’s birthday.

“I mean, [Ristuccia] would have you believe that we can raise the Nazi flag to commemorate Hitler’s birthday. I think that’s totally unreasonable, and it certainly wouldn’t be in the city’s best interests to do that,” Barnes said.

According to the transcript from the Nov. 5 hearing, Ristuccia did not advocate for the display of Nazi symbols.

Barnes also admitted to Saint-Marc that, under its policy, Nashua would ban the national flag of Israel at City Hall as well. The City has previously banned the Palestinian flag, a pro-life flag, and flags supporting people who detransition after sex change procedures.

Saint-Marc’s report will now go to McCafferty for a final decision on the injunction. Even if McCafferty agrees with Saint-Marc on the injunction, the case is far from over.

“The final decision about the preliminary injunction rests with the district judge, who may accept, reject, or modify the magistrate’s recommendation. As the case proceeds, we will continue fighting to protect the rights of every citizen to express their views freely, without government censorship,” Ristuccia said.

Stacey Lancaster spent his Friday afternoon at work doing a little online shopping.

But the Manchester West High School’s lead NJROTC teacher wasn’t browsing Amazon for deals. According to law enforcement officials, he was working out the details of buying a sexual encounter with a 12-year-old girl. 

Lancaster texted back and forth online with someone offering up two young girls for paid sex. Lancaster was first given the choice of the 12-year-old but seemed incredulous at the girl’s photo.

“Did you say she’s 12? Are you being serious? That’s really bad if it’s true,” Lancaster texted after seeing the child’s photo, according to court records.

At this, the pimp offered a 14-year-old girl to Lancaster instead, but Lancaster decided to go with the 12-year-old, and agreed to pay $100. He finished up his work at the high school that afternoon, and a short time later went to the Manchester hotel to meet the pimp and the girl, according to court records. 

In the hotel parking lot, Lancaster frisked the pimp to make sure there was no hidden police microphone, and then proceeded to close the deal. That’s when agents with Homeland Security Investigations and Manchester Police moved in, taking Lancaster into custody on attempted sex trafficking charges.

The now-unemployed Lancaster, 46, is one of five men busted in recent days as part of a proactive law enforcement investigation operated by HSI agents. According to court records and an interview with United States Attorney Jane Young, HSI agents set up a fake service online catering to men seeking sex with children in order to stop child sex trafficking.

“Law enforcement is going to pursue every avenue to make sure the communities in New Hampshire are safe from all forms of crime,” Young said. “This is exactly what law enforcement should be doing. They should be applauded for that work.”

Along with Lancaster, agents arrested Arthur Picanco, 42, of Bradford, Mass., Ozeias Luiz Guilherme, 38, of Haverhill, Mass., Sharath Chandra Boll, 23, of Chelmsford, Mass., and Koteshwara Raju Jonnagodda, 24, of Chelmsford, Mass..

All of the men found an advertisement HSI agents placed on a website known to attract men looking for sex with children, Young said, though she declined to specify the name of the site. An undercover agent acted as the online pimp to set up deals with the men, directing them to the Manchester hotel for the in-person encounter. 

Young said some details, like the name of the website and the hotel, are not being disclosed in order to protect the investigation, and potential future investigations as well.

Young declined to answer when asked about the immigration status of the suspects from Massachusetts. She did acknowledge that immigration status is taken into account by her office, and the appropriate laws are followed. 

The men were held in jail over the weekend and on Monday, Lancaster had a detention hearing in the United States District Court in Concord. Judge Andrea Johnstone ruled Lancaster could be released on several conditions including no access to children or the internet, and submitting to home confinement. Lancaster, who is married, will be placed under house arrest in his mother’s home.

Manchester school officials have said there’s no indication Lancaster preyed on any children in the district. The 24-year Navy veteran began teaching within the last year at the school’s NJROTC program. He also served as the district’s liaison with the United States Navy. Lancaster has no prior criminal history, according to statements made in court.

Manchester School District practices a controversial policy of refusing to answer questions from parents about their own children’s behavior related to sex and gender, encouraging teachers and students to keep secrets from moms and dads. While the New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld the right of the district to follow the policy, criticism has continued.

In the wake of Lancaster’s arrest, some GOP lawmakers plan to act.

“I have already filed the ‘Honesty and Transparency in Education Act’ this year,” said state Sen. Tim Lang (R-Sanbornton). “This bill passed the Senate with ease, and I suspect it will again.”

The legislation, which was killed by Democrats in the House last year, would require all school employees to respond honestly and completely to written requests by parents regarding information relating to their children.

“My arguments remain the same: Schools and teachers have no business keeping secrets from parents,” Lang said. “Schools have pushed parents aside for too long now, it’s time for the legislature to clearly put parents back in charge of their children’s lives.”

The Manchester West High School NJROTC teacher, Stacey Lancaster, is accused of taking part in a scheme to sex traffic a child, according to court records.

Lancaster, 46, from Hudson, is a Navy veteran who worked as the Senior Naval Science Instructor at the high school. He was arrested Friday along with Arthur Picanco, 42, of Bradford, Mass., and Ozeias Luiz Guilherme, 38, of Haverhill, Mass.

The three men were arrested as part of a “pro-active” case, according to a statement released Saturday by the United States Attorney’s Office. The men are accused of attempting to sex traffic a child at a Manchester hotel. All three are currently being held without bail and are due in the United States District Court in Concord on Monday for detention hearings. 

Lancaster oversees Manchester West’s NJROTC program and served as the liaison between the school district and the U.S. Navy, according to a letter Manchester School District Superintendent Jennifer Chmiel sent parents this weekend. Right now, there’s no indication that Lancaster was attempting to sex traffic a Manchester student, Chmiel wrote.

“Mr. Lancaster has been placed on administrative leave, and the District is working closely with law enforcement agencies assigned to this case. Unfortunately, we do not have further information to provide at this time,” Chmiel wrote.

The investigation that led to the arrests is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Project Safe Childhood was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.

Members of the public with questions, concerns, or information on the case can call the U.S. Attorney’s Office at (603) 230-2563. 

When it comes to obeying the law, the Kearsarge School District is suffering from legal schizophrenia.

On one hand, district officials claim they can’t stop a convicted sex offender busted for child pornography from walking on campus to attend girls soccer games.

On the other hand, they claim the right to ignore New Hampshire’s state law banning biological males from playing on the girls’ soccer team.

The player is Maelle Jacques, a biological male who identifies as a girl and plays goalie for Kearsarge.

The convicted sex offender, who’s scheduled to report to prison in December but insists on attending games today, is Jacques’ father, Marc.

Kearsarge is scrambling to contain the damage the district’s administration created when it became known that officials were aware that parent Marc Jacques pleaded guilty to distributing child sex abuse images earlier this year. Marc Jacques was never prevented by school officials from going to any girl’s soccer games this year to watch his child Maelle Jacques compete.

“Because these events are open to the public, the district may restrict access only in the case of a prior civil no trespass order, or active court order. In general terms, we cannot selectively determine who may or may not attend any event,” Superintendent John Fortney said in a letter sent to parents this week.

Marc Jacques is back in custody after he allegedly violated the conditions of his pre-incarceration release by possessing a flash drive containing more child sex abuse images.  Marc Jacques was sentenced to five years in prison last month, but given until December to report to prison authorities to begin his sentence. 

It is not unusual for federal defendants to get a few weeks of freedom between the sentencing hearing and the start of their incarceration. That time is meant to allow the defendants to get their affairs in order before going to prison. 

But Marc Jacques was given months of pre-incarceration release after he pleaded with the court that his child, Maelle Jacques, needed him at the soccer games. Marc Jacques said factors like the state law banning biological boys from playing girl’s sports, and potential threats of violence against transgender people, required that he be at the games.

“Maelle is going to need me to be present and in attendance to support [Maelle] and protect [Maelle] in the face of the fears [Maelle] will have of what could happen to [Maelle] on the athletic fields,” Marc Jacques wrote.

But Fortney is also telling parents who are upset that a biological male is on the high school’s girls soccer team that Kearsarge is not going to comply with state law. In New Hampshire, state law requires high school athletes to compete on the team that matches their sex at birth.

But the school district told parents who want the law enforced that it refuses to do so.

“Relative to HB 1205, this bill is a violation of federal law, the U.S. Constitution, and NH’s own Civil Rights Provision,” the district declared, without evidence or any court rulings confirming their statements.

While a federal judge has suspended the enforcement of HB 1205 for two specific students, the law has not been overridden, nor has it been declared unconstitutional.

“Kearsarge is violating the law,” an attorney with knowledge of the case told NHJournal on background.

As for the convicted sex offender, Fortney claims Kearsarge takes the safety of all the students seriously, and consulted with police and attorneys about the matter. Sutton Police Chief Jonathan Korbet told NHJournal he had conversations with Kearsarge about the girl’s soccer games.

“We decided it was necessary to provide police details at JV and varsity girl’s soccer games,” Korbet said.

Under the conditions of the pre-incarceration release, Marc Jacques is to have no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18. Korbet said that condition is vague and difficult to enforce at the soccer games.

“It’s hard to determine what constitutes unsupervised. In a public place, in a public setting, one could argue that’s not unsupervised,” Korbet said.

But Kearsarge knew Marc Jacques was going to away girl’s soccer games as well. Hopkinton Superintendent Michael Flynn said this week officials in his district were unaware of Marc Jacques’ conviction until hours before the Kearsarge team was set to play at Hopkinton on Oct. 7. Flynn also talked to local police and the Hopkinton’s legal team, and put in a safety plan 45 minutes before the game time. Like Fortney, Flynn said he legally could not stop Marc Jacques from attending the game.

“We want to make sure that we, as a school district, follow the laws. I am not able to arrest anybody, and I can’t create court orders,” Flynn said.

At the Oct. 7 Hopkinton game, Marc Jacques was caught on video interacting with a young boy until the child’s mother was alerted. NHJournal has seen the video, but is not sharing it in order to protect the boy’s identity.

The hands-off treatment Marc Jacques received from multiple school districts before he was arrested for violating his release is in stark contrast to the way the Bow School District treated a group of parents who engaged in a silent protest last month.

Kyle Fellers and Anthony “Andy” Foote were slapped with no trespassing orders by Bow school officials for wearing pink “XX” wristbands at the Sept. 17 girl’s soccer game. Bow officials claim they acted out of an obligation to protect a transgender student on the opposing Plymouth High School team from the silent protest.