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After Tuesday night’s League of Women Voters “listening session” in Peterborough devolved into an hour of angry White liberals shouting at the lone African American, Rep. Jonah Wheeler (D-Peterborough), some of the attendees now want answers.

In a letter to the LWV, leaders of the activists groups LGB Courage Coalition and Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender expressed their anger over the event, which has received tens of thousands of views over social media.

“You hold responsibility for this debacle. The March 25 event was a betrayal of trust and a squandered chance for meaningful dialogue,” wrote leaders of the activists groups LGB Courage Coalition and Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender.

Instead of a calm conversation about his recent vote in support of girls-only sports, Wheeler found himself in a room packed with people hurling insults and accusing him of killing transgender people. He was called a “fascist,” a “useful idiot” and — perhaps most shockingly for Peterborough state representative — a Republican.

Rep. Jonah Wheeler (D-Peterborough) takes questions at the Peterborough Town Library, March 25, 2025.

“In a room of about 200, Wheeler, a 22-year-old Black legislator, faced shouted accusations of ‘traitor’ and ‘fascist’ from a predominantly White, progressive crowd,” the letter states.

The letter, sent Thursday, demands answers from New Hampshire President of the League of Women Voters Liz Tentarelli as to why and how the event was allowed to spiral out of control.

Conditions inside the room were chaotic and unsafe, the activists wrote. Hundreds of people crammed the meeting room inside the Peterborough Town Library, and some of the pro-transgender audience members acted to intimidate members of the press and people there to support Wheeler. 

“The room became unsafe: you allowed late arrivals—angry, agitated non-supporters—to stand and block doorways, cutting off emergency exits … A journalist reported that her notebook was searched by Jane, the individual at the front of the room who used profanity towards Rep. Wheeler.”

Tentarelli disputes some of the claims in the letter, and blames groups like LGB Courage Coalition and Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender for causing the overcrowding problem. 

“The event was not intended as a platform for out of state groups to promote their views. The time for stating views is public hearings in the legislature,” Tentarelli told NHJournal in an email.

Tentarelli did not attend the event in person.

The journalist getting harassed and intimidated by Jane was witnessed by NHJournal, as were other instances of attendees expressing hostility toward members of the press. Tentarelli did not address the treatment of the press in her response.

Just as bad as the conduct inside the room was the pornographic and racist material flooding the Zoom feed for people who wanted to watch the “listening session” remotely. 

“Hackers flooded the feed with pornographic, racist, and bestiality images, music, and noise, disrupting Wheeler’s remarks. Your failure to secure the platform with basic measures—muting participants or requiring authentication—was inexcusable, and when it crashed, you abandoned it,” the letter states.

Tentarelli acknowledged the problem with the Zoom feed, and she said there are plans to avoid that issue for the next “listening session.”

“The shameful behavior of an unidentified entity who disrupted the Zoom call was appalling. As a result, future listening sessions will likely be recorded for later viewing, rather than be on Zoom,” Tentarelli wrote.

The LGB Courage Coalition and Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender letter accuses Tentarelli and the League of Women Voters of using the event to shame Wheeler and drive him out of office. 

“These failures suggest more than negligence—they point to intent. You set a trap, not a forum,” the letter states.

But Tentarelli disputes that accusation as well, saying she and the League of Women Voters are strictly non-partisan.

“The League of Women Voters never supports or opposes any party or candidate,” Tentarelli said.

Also on Thursday, the University of New Hampshire released a new poll showing 71 percent of Granite Staters support Wheeler’s position backing a ban on males who identify as female competing in women’s sports. Just 21 percent oppose it.

The LGB Courage Coalition and Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender want Tentarelli to commit to a new listening session with Wheeler that actually allows for a civil conversation. That means competent technicians operating a live Zoom feed, a safe in-person environment in which members of the press will not be harassed, and a balanced panel of moderators to steer the conversation. 

A new complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights says the University of New Hampshire is part of a group that racially discriminates against faculty members.

The Legal Insurrection Foundation filed the complaint Wednesday alleging the North Star Collective, an initiative operated by the New England Board for Higher Education (NEBHE), is breaking anti-discrimination laws by excluding White faculty from the program.

Among the schools that fund and operate the North Star Collective: The University of New Hampshire.

“One of the points of the North Star Collective is to advance programming and educational opportunities for non-White faculty, what they call BIPOC: Black, Indigenous, people of color,” said William Jacobson, president of the Legal Insurrection Foundation. “Anybody who’s been on campus in the last decade would be familiar with what that is, it basically means non-Whites.”

The North Star Collective offers a fellowship program exclusively to BIPOC faculty members which includes mentoring opportunities, seminars, networking opportunities, and a stipend. The main qualification for people interested in applying for the fellowship is either to be a person of color, or to “identify” as a person of color.

“They should have just said, ‘We have this program. It’s meant to help everybody except White faculty,’” Jacobson said.

The North Star Collective is a joint effort of 20 schools within the New England Board for Higher Education membership, including UNH. The university declined to comment on Thursday, saying it had not yet seen the complaint.

Nearly all of the member schools named in the complaint are state universities that rely on federal funding, according to Jacobson. Programs like the North Star Collective, which discriminate based on race, violate federal equal protection laws and the U.S. Constitution.

“We are alleging that it violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act because it’s discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin, and for the public universities who are among these 20, it also violates the 14th Amendment equal protection guarantee,” Jacobson said.

The NEBHE is not named in the complaint, since it does not get direct federal funding. State Sen. David Watters, (D-Dover) is a member of the NEBHE’s board of regents. He did not respond to a request for comment. Jacobson told NHJournal the NEBHE removed North Star Collective information from its website sometime in February.

“Fortunately, we had already archived a lot of them in the so-called Wayback Machine,” Jacobson said.

The lawsuit is just the latest in a series of legal efforts to end race-based policies — sometimes called “affirmative action” — by taxpayer-funded entities like universities, as well as public schools and government agencies. For example, when it was discovered that New Hampshire schools and state agencies were using materials that described White people as uniquely and inherently racist, the state passed a law banning that content. (A federal judge struck down the law as too vague in 2o24.)

And in 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Harvard University’s race-based admissions policies and practices violated the Fourteenth Amendment.

In some of his first executive orders, President Donald Trump directed the Justice Department to target initiatives like the North Star Collective that use racism to combat past racism. Jacobson said he found out about the group from a Sacred Heart University press release promoting professors who were accepted into the North Star program.

“I think they maybe didn’t get the message of Trump being elected, that this is not something you’re supposed to be bragging about,” Jacobson said.

The complaint is heading to the federal Department of Education at a time when its future is uncertain. Trump has announced plans to eliminate the department after already cutting staff. Jacobson said his complaint will likely be moved to the Department of Justice, where he hopes it will be considered for an investigation. It could take months or even years for the case to be resolved, he said.

The Equal Protection Project, part of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, focuses on rooting out racist agendas that are enacted by institutions to combat racism. 

“The remedy for racism never is more racism,” the EPP’s website states.

Why is state Supreme Court Justice Barbara Hantz Marconi is on administrative leave — a drastic action rarely taken by a sitting jurist? New Hampshire officials won’t say.

Is it related to the grand jury now reportedly convened to consider criminal charges against husband, Geno Marconi? Again, no word.

“This must shake the faith that citizens should expect to have in their public institutions and those who work for them as well as those who have oversight for them,” the New Hampshire Union-Leader editorialized this weekend.

Without information from the Sununu administration or the judiciary, speculation has turned to Geno Marconi and his troubled past.

Geno Marconi was placed on leave as the Director for the New Hampshire Division of Ports and Harbors in April. The reasons for the action have not been made clear, but it has been known for weeks that he is being investigated by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.

NHPR reports witnesses are being called to testify before a grand jury. Grand jury proceedings are secret and officials will not comment unless and until indictments are handed up.

Marconi’s colorful past includes 2006 allegations he misused public resources for his own benefit, that he took improper gifts like lobsters and liquor in his role as ports director, and he used racist slurs about a ship captain trying to do business with the state.

The troubling aftermath of the 2006 complaints against Marconi include a drive-by shooting at the home of one of the witnesses and alleged other threats. No one was ever charged for shooting or other threats, and Marconi has denied involvement.

Last week, the public learned for the first time that Justice Hantz Marconi has been recusing herself from cases involving the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office. Though she has sat in on oral arguments in cases involving the state’s top law enforcement agency, Hantz Marconi has reportedly not taken part in deliberations or decisions in those cases. 

Geno Marconi kept his job after apologizing in 2006 for reportedly calling a ship captain of Middle Eastern descent a “sand n*gger” a “camel jockey,” and a “towel head.” He was also accused of calling someone else a “New York Jew with the chink wife.” 

Geno Marconi told investigators that while he likely did use the term “sand n*gger” it was not about that particular captain. He also denied making the other remarks. He was required to undergo sensitivity training as a result of the investigation.

There were also complaints about his management practices. According to a New Hampshire Attorney General’s supplemental report, Marconi took advantage of his position in several ways: he used his state-issued truck for personal errands like picking up sheetrock; he used a state forklift to drop private boat moorings; stored his private boat as a state dock; and took gifts like lobsters, pheasant, and a bottle of ouzo from ship captains and fishermen who did business with the Port of New Hampshire.

Portsmouth Development Authority Officials would tell investigators that while Marconi operated within the rules in those instances, reforms would be considered going forward. 

A year later, Bill Roach, one of the longshoremen who complained about Marconi’s behavior, reported someone shot at his Rye home. Soon after that, a fake headstone with Roach’s initials and the initials RIP was found at the port. A short time later, a cage of dead rats was left outside Roach’s home. 

Despite three separate police investigations, no charges were ever brought for the threats against Roach. Marconi denied any involvement. Roach was president of the International Longshoremen’s Association and at the time he and several other longshoremen filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the state and the port. The lawsuit claimed Marconi took away their port jobs after they made their complaints about his alleged slurs.

The lawsuit ended up being dismissed when the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled the longshoremen were contractors and not state employees. As such, they did not qualify for whistleblower protection. 

Hatz Marconi built a career as a private lawyer, becoming a shareholder at the law firm of Sheehan, Phinney, Bass and Green. Gov. Chris Sununu nominated Hantz Marconi to be Associate Supreme Court Justice in 2017. 

Now she’s on mandatory leave and, for the moment, Granite Staters continue to be left in the dark.

A Black student expelled from Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine claims a racially biased administrator pushed a flawed sexual assault investigation that ended his studies.

Now, the student, who is using the pseudonym “John Doe” in the lawsuit, is suing the Ivy League school in the United States District Court in Concord in hopes of graduating. Doe was one credit shy of completing his studies when he was expelled.

According to the lawsuit, Dartmouth’s all-White Title IX Hearing Panel found he had violated the college’s Sexual and Gender Based Misconduct Policy, or SMP, and ordered him expelled. Doe is accused of raping a woman he met through a dating app. He has never been charged criminally. Doe maintains the sex was consensual. 

Doe’s lawsuit claims not only did administrators violate the SMP rules for investigations, but the panel operated as a kangaroo court that denied him due process and relied on dodgy evidence.

Doe’s legal advisor for the Dec. 7, 2023  final hearing was not given access to the evidence until Dec. 6. At the last minute, the panel rescheduled the hearing to Dec. 8, according to the lawsuit. 

The panel ignored the results of a rape kit, which found the alleged victim did not suffer any trauma from the sexual encounter, the lawsuit states. The panel also did not question a video the woman presented as being from the sexual assault. According to Doe’s lawsuit, the video is almost completely dark and does not show him present. Instead, the woman — who is also not visible in the video — is heard saying stop. The video was posted to social media a month and a half after their sexual encounter, Doe claims.

Doe puts much of the blame on Dartmouth’s Title IX Coordinator, Kristi Clemens. Clemens is Dartmouth’s Assistant Vice President for Equity and Compliance and has a history of being involved in a racist incident involving Doe, according to the lawsuit.

In 2015, when he was an undergraduate, Doe said he was falsely accused of threatening a professor. In a subsequent meeting with Clemens, she told him he posed a threat because he is “big, tall, and Black,” the lawsuit states.

Doe was later targeted for racial harassment and threats by other students in 2016, but those complaints were ignored when he reported them to Clemens and other administrators, the lawsuit states.

Dartmouth did not respond to NHJournal’s request for comment.

It was Clemens who decided in December of 2022 to pursue an SMP investigation against Doe, even though the accusation did not fall under the scope of the school’s policy, according to the lawsuit.

Doe’s story is that he met a woman, referred to as Sally Smith in the lawsuit, through a dating app in late October 2022. The woman was not a Dartmouth student or employee, nor was she taking part in any college program. Smith told Doe she was single, and Doe says the two talked about seeking long-term relationships.

The pair hit it off, and a few days later, on Nov. 3, they had a sexual encounter at his apartment in Vermont.

Days later, on Nov. 9, Doe says Smith accused him of rape via a text message. Doe was stunned by the accusation and cut off contact with the woman. In the following weeks, Doe began getting threatening messages via text from a man he did not know, according to the lawsuit. The threats included statements to the effect he knew where Doe lived.

On Dec. 9, Doe was contacted by Vermont State Police Detective Chris Pilner, who was investigating Smith’s rape accusation. According to the lawsuit, Doe learned from Pilner that, much to his surprise, Smith is married. 

According to Pilner, Smith’s husband was now angry with Doe, and police had information he wanted to hurt Doe. Pilner went on to tell Doe that Smith reported the rape in November of 2022 but had stopped responding to police in the ensuing weeks.

Doe was never charged with a crime related to Smith’s accusations. However, weeks after Pilner interviewed him, Clemens informed Doe she was starting an SMP investigation based on a complaint from Smith. 

Doe’s lawsuit states the investigation went forward even though the incident in question did not occur within the bounds of Dartmouth’s jurisdiction. The encounter did not occur in a Dartmouth-owned building or involve student accusers and accused, nor was it in any way connected to any Dartmouth-sponsored program as the SMP normally requires to open an investigation.

When questioned, Clemens told Doe the policy allows for expanding the scope of investigations in “limited circumstances.” Though, according to the lawsuit, Clemens never explained to Doe what the circumstances were in his case. 

Doe is originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Doe and his family struggled for years after they arrived in the United States in 2011, and he was even required to drop out of middle school to support his family for a time. Outside of school, he runs a non-profit that provides healthcare to women and children in his home country. 

Dartmouth’s current Sexual Misconduct Policy is partly a response to accusations the school has turned a blind eye to sexual harassment and assault. In 2020, Dartmouth agreed to a $14 million settlement in the lawsuit brought by several women who say they were harassed and assaulted by Department of Psychological and Brain Science professors Todd Heatherton, William Kelley, and Paul Whalen.

That lawsuit claimed the college facilitated the abuse by looking the other way and allowing for a culture of drinking, rape, and sexual harassment for years in the department.

When the Northwood School Board meets Wednesday night, it won’t be to cover the “three R’s.” Instead, they’ll be dealing with the “N-word” and other racial and obscene comments from one of their own members: outspoken progressive Gary Caron.

Caron has a history of using obscene and sexually explicit language to attack conservatives and Republicans in social posts, and the newest member of Northwood’s School Board hasn’t slowed down since taking office.

When a conservative commentator posted a meme with the message that former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) ought to be sent to the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp last week, Caron responded with a sexual threat.

“I’d love to see you in GTMO after I [explicit] your ass red raw,” Caron posted.

When another conservative account posted a photo of controversial Republican political candidate Kari Lake around that same time, Caron was quick with a misogynistic response.

“Gfyself lying c—t,” Caron wrote.

Caron posted dozens of obscene, angry, and violent messages on Twitter/X over the past few years, mostly directed at conservative and Republican figures. One post about Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) from January includes an implied racial slur targeting African Americans.

“F**king house N—a sellout coward c***suvker gfyself,” Caron wrote.

After a flurry of complaints over the Presidents Day weekend, Caron’s fellow board members had had enough. Northwood Superintendent Nathaniel Byrne told NHJournal that the board will be addressing Caron’s behavior at the upcoming meeting.

The board will discuss “racist, graphic, and violent social media posts from a current school board member.” Caron plans to be at the meeting, according to Byrne.

Caron was elected to a three-year term on the board last March when he ran unopposed for the seat. The retired engineer worked for the United States Navy on submarine modernization and weapons systems, according to his resume posted on LinkedIn. As part of his work, Caron held a security clearance.

Caron could not be reached for comment as the several phone numbers publicly associated with him, including the cell phone number on his resume, were disconnected or are no longer in service.

According to a questionnaire he filled out prior to last year’s school board election, Caron is concerned with how children are taught history in school.

“Issues of importance are teaching truth, American history, civics, democracy, civil rights, and civil liberties,” Caron wrote.

There is a noticeable lack of advocacy for civil rights — or civility in general — in Caron’s public postings. And he’s made no secret of his partisan leanings, declaring his “hate” for “Trump, his supporters, White men, Christians and Conservatives.”

“This is vile and disgusting. This man makes decisions regarding the materials that will be in the hands of children and public policy,” wrote Manchester politico Victoria Sullivan, one of the Granite Staters who brought Caron’s posts to the school board’s attention.

It’s not clear what Caron will do next or what the board can do about his posts. Byrne has spoken to Caron and told NHJournal he doesn’t know if Caron plans to resign his seat, though the possibility was mentioned.

“I’m not aware of his decision. I do know he will be at the meeting this week,” Byrne said.

Wednesday’s meeting could prove frustrating for anyone hoping the board takes action. Northwood’s school board does not have a policy dealing with social media use by members, Byrne said.

“The board is not allowed to infringe on any other members’ First Amendment rights,” Byrne said.

The board does have a code of ethics policy, however, and Byrne said that will guide Wednesday’s discussion about Caron’s social media posts. But that policy, last updated in 2015, mostly concerns board member interactions with other board members. It does not address how board members conduct themselves with members of the general public.

Embattled Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave, who is already the subject of a criminal investigation for alleged theft and abuse of office, could face another investigation into his tenure.

Brave denies any wrongdoing related to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s criminal investigation, which began last month. It is the second investigation into Brave’s conduct as sheriff this year after the Strafford County Commission hired an outside firm for an inquiry in January.

Now a well-placed source tells NHJournal that members of Strafford County’s State House delegation are considering getting involved. There is an effort to organize a delegation meeting to discuss and possibly vote to begin its own investigation.

“(They are) in the process of organizing a request for a delegation meeting to discuss opening a statutorily authorized investigation into any potential misdoings by elected or employed county officials,” the source said.

Under New Hampshire law, county delegations made up of state lawmakers have the authority to investigate the conduct of county officials. Under the provisions of RSA 24:17, the delegation can create an investigative committee that can summon witnesses and have them testify under oath.

Even without the headache of multiple investigations, Brave’s leadership as Strafford County Sheriff is running into difficulties. According to his department’s most recent budget report, Brave spent nearly 60 percent of his total $3.3 million annual budget in the first six months of the fiscal year. Brave has spent close to $2 million of his total in the first six months.

That included $244,000 for overtime pay, or 94 percent of the budget, in the first half of the year alone. The department is budgeted for $260,000 annually, leaving Brave with about $15,000 for the next six months. 

Brave has also spent 84 percent, or $388,000, of his budgeted $475,000 for retirement and $1,300 of $2,000 for unemployment, using 67 percent of the budget. Those expenses point to trouble keeping staff on the job.

In recent weeks, Brave made the criminal investigation public by telling reporters it is part of an escalation on the part of Commissioners George Maglaras, Robert Watson, and Deanna Rollo. Brave accused the trio of bullying him for political reasons. Brave even accused Maglaras of calling him a “token.”

Brave is reportedly under investigation by the Attorney General’s Public Integrity Unit for taking a female employee who is not his wife on a trip to Florida using taxpayer funds. Brave denied the accusation.

“They say I am abusing the travel budget, also not true,” Brave told the Foster’s Daily Democrat. “I have $18,000 a year for travel in the budget, and I have been using it to travel to other states where the sheriff’s departments are more progressive than here, to learn how to better involve us in the community.”

Commissioners hired Municipal Resources Inc. in January, a few weeks after Brave’s wife, Jamie Brave, was arrested for DUI in Portsmouth in December. The MRI report has not been made public, though Brave has used it to attack the commissioners, saying it was evidence his fellow Democrats were out to get him.

The commissioners pushed back in recent days, accusing Brave of leaking confidential information from the MRI in an effort to mislead the public.

“We are disheartened that Sheriff Brave would choose to go on a publicity tour using parts of the MRI report to defend himself in the totally separate Attorney General criminal investigation,” the commissioners said in a letter.

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.

In the past few months, Sen. Maggie Hassan has called for building more of former President Donald Trump’s border wall, supported a “racist” policy to block asylum seekers, and promoted more fossil fuel production — all positions that anger progressives. She is facing zero competition for the Democratic nomination.

Gov. Chris Sununu signed a budget last year that cut taxes, created Education Freedom Accounts, and blocked government agencies from using race-based CRT content. And for his trouble, he is facing five GOP primary opponents.

And that, political observers say, is the difference between New Hampshire progressives and far-right conservatives: Conservatives fight and progressives tweet.

New Hampshire progressives went after Hassan on Twitter again last week, for example, accusing the Democratic incumbent of hurting minority communities because of her stance on immigration. 

But so far, the same progressive community has failed to hold Hassan to account in real life.

Using news that racist flyers targeting immigrants were being distributed in Nashua, activist Asma Elhuni called out Hassan for her record on immigration.

“People are saying no to hate because of a racist flyer against immigrants in Nashua. We need this same pushback against @SenatorHassan. Her policies are actually more dangerous than fliers that incite violence. She is actually causing violence,” Elhuni claimed.

Progressives like state Rep. Maria Perez (D-Milford) have been trying for months to speak with Hassan about her position on Title 42 and her newfound support for building a wall at the southern border to no avail. Activist Alissandra Rodriguez-Murray said Hassan is basically running for re-election as a member of the GOP.

“Unfortunately, @Senator Hassan has chosen to run as a Republican in Dem clothing. For months constituents have begged her to hear us on this issue and she has refused, pandering instead to racists who demand ‘border control.’ We will not sacrifice our people for her reelection,” Rodriguez-Murray said on Twitter.

Even New Hampshire Quakers, famous for their pacifist beliefs, are hitting Hassan hard for her immigration platform. The American Friends Service Committee called on Hassan to rethink her stance on Title 42, which allows the United States to expel immigrants and those seeking refuge as asylum seekers.

“@Maggie_Hassan, asylum seekers and other immigrants are our family members, our neighbors, and our community members; your actions should be in service to, not in opposition to, their well-being, their rights, and their dignity,” the Friends wrote on Twitter.

Hassan opposes lifting Title 42, a move President Joe Biden wants to make saying that it would harm security at the border.

“Repealing Title 42 without a plan in place will do nothing to promote a responsible border policy that keeps our country safe and lives up to our humanitarian values. I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this bipartisan bill, and I look forward to hearing directly from border agents during my trip to the border this weekend about what additional steps the administration must take to strengthen border security,” Hassan said in a statement.

Hassan took flak for a spring trip to the Southern border where she shot campaign videos calling for tighter security. She even said the border needs more “physical barriers,” aka “The Wall.”

“It’s very clear the administration needs to address certain gaps in the physical barriers along the border,” Hassan said.

And still — no progressive challenge.

U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas has been even more open in his rejection of progressive policies, but like Hassan, he has yet to pay a price. Pappas supports increased fossil fuel production, has broken his “no fossil fuel” campaign money pledge, and opposes Biden’s student debt bailout — a touchstone of progressive politics. And yet he doesn’t face a primary challenge or significant public criticism from the Granite State left.

The fact that Democrats like Hassan and Pappas are not facing a primary opponent — or even serious discussion of a primary challenge earlier in the cycle — has observers saying there is no progressive movement in the Granite State. Former congressman and outspoken progressive Paul Hodes doesn’t agree.

“If you take a look at many of the younger Democrats who are coming up, and you read the blogs, and you read Twitter, and you follow social media, there is a strong progressive movement that is in line with New Hampshire’s independent and quirky politics,” Hodes told NHJournal during a recent podcast. “But it’s fair to say the more moderate wing of the Democratic party has had more [electoral] success.”

Meanwhile, progressives continue to avoid criticizing their fellow Democrats in the press. Neither Elhuni nor Maggie Fogarty with the American Friends Service Committee responded to requests for comment. Rodriguez-Murray responded by saying she refuses to speak to NH Journal.

“Please remove me from your contact list,” she wrote in a message.

Rodriguez-Murray is angry over NH Journal’s coverage of her Twitter comments referring to Jewish people as termites.

Other progressives are practicing their own form of avoidance. Environmental activist group, 350 NH, for example, is skipping endorsements for federal races this election cycle rather than being forced to denounce Democratic lawmakers like Hassan and Pappas for their embrace of fossil fuels.

That is in stark contrast to activists on the right. In 2016, when conservatives were upset with Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte over her rejection of Donald Trump (among other issues), they ran two other candidates in the general election. Independent Aaron Day took more than 17,000 votes, and Libertarian Brian Chabot got more than 12,000 votes.

Ayotte ended up losing to Hassan by just 1,017 votes.

Progressives have an uphill battle winning in New Hampshire, according to Hodes. Even if New Hampshire voters want some change from their elected officials, most Granite Staters want incremental change, not the big, structural changes progressives favor.

“I’m not sure voters are that attracted or feel comfortable with wholesale change,” Hodes said.

A long-simmering feud between New Hampshire Democrats and progressives flared again this week, and it featured the same political figures who split the caucus months ago.

In an unexplained turn of events, state Rep. Manny Espitia, (D-Nashua), issued a public apology this week to state Rep. Nicole Klein Knight for accusing her of endangering the life of a Black Democratic activist. 

“On Feb. 2, I accused her of calling House security as retaliation against a young man. She has explained that she had been genuinely scared for her safety and I apologize for accusing her of such action,” Espitia wrote in the apology issued Wednesday.

Espitia did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday, and Klein Knight declined to comment when reached.

The saga began in January when Klein Knight confronted teen activist Jonah Wheeler in the State House and unleashed a verbal screed that included repeated use of the “n-word.” (Wheeler is Black.) She claimed she was attempting to confront what she believed were antisemitic statements and attitudes among BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) members of the progressive community. During the encounter, which she initiated, Klein Knight called security, claiming she feared for her own safety.

A group of BIPOC progressives responded by releasing a letter publicizing the incident and demanding an apology. The House Democratic Caucus leadership denounced Klein Knight and removed her from committee assignments.

The incident was followed by weeks of charges and countercharges, with progressives accusing traditional Democrats of racism, and in turn being accused of harboring antisemitic attitudes. Amid the political melee, Espitia accused Klein Knight of putting Wheeler’s life in danger simply by calling the police because, Espitia suggested, police officers are racists who present an inherent threat to people of color.

“She engaged in degrading, bigoted behavior against a young Black man, eventually calling security on him, despite being fully cognizant of the heightened dangers Black men face in this country in the presence of law enforcement,” Espitia said at the time. In the ensuing backlash, Espitia apologized. And despite his anti-police attitudes, he was tapped by House Democratic leaders to replace Klein Knight on the Criminal Justice committee.

It was an ugly series of confrontations the caucus appeared to have moved passed in the wake of the death of House Democratic Leader Renny Cushing in March. Then came Espitia’s apology, reopening the wounds.

Wheeler said Thursday that Espitia’s apology does not make sense, especially coming months after the original controversy.

“It’s inconsistent with the facts,” Wheeler said.

Alissandra Rodríguez-Murray, a progressive activist and spokesperson for the BIPOC Leaders and Organizers group that issued the first denunciation of Klein Knight, called Espitia’s apology disappointing.

“Rep. Klein Knight is still on her rampage against BIPOC organizers yet apparently, we were the ones causing party division. Really shows who @NHHouseDems *actually* care about (hint…it’s not Black and Brown people),” she tweeted.

Rodríguez-Murray has referred to Jewish people as “termites” on Twitter.

Asma Elhuni of the progressive action group Race Forward also called out Espitia for his apology.

“You have chosen to apologize to a White woman for trying to call security on a harmless young Black man legitimizing her racist fear of Black men. Do better! Siding with White fear vs naming racist behavior is called anti-Blackness!”

Espitia issued his apology as president of the New Hampshire Young Democrats. In February, using the same position as head of the Young Democrats, he issued a statement revoking the group’s endorsement of Klein Knight.

According to sources familiar with the situation, Klein Knight and others in the Democratic Jewish community have been pushing for Espitia to meet with them for months. Espitia indicated in his statement this week that dangers to the Jewish community in New Hampshire are a real concern.

“The Jewish community is experiencing a higher rate of anti-semitism in the past 2 years, and it is happening here in New Hampshire,” Espitia wrote.

Wheeler is a member of Rights and Democracy, RAD, as is state Rep. Maria Perez.

Perez was forced to apologize last year after she shared the statement “From the river to the sea, Palestine must be free,” on social media. It is a slogan used by the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorist organization to call for Israel’s destruction. The resulting controversy ended with Perez being booted from her leadership position.

Klein Knight has said RAD members took up a harassment campaign against her for criticizing Perez. That was the context for the January confrontation between Wheeler and Klein Knight.

Espitia himself has dealt with racism. Last year, the white supremacist group NSC 131 targeted Espitia with threats.

It is unclear how returning to this incident helps maintain unity inside the caucus, which is already facing a difficult political environment in November.

In a rebuke to progressive activists and the Black Lives Matter organization, 64 House Democrats broke with their party to back a GOP measure tightening bail restrictions. The bill is designed to repair the 2018 bail reform bill passed with a bipartisan majority and signed with much fanfare by GOP Gov. Chris Sununu.

Since then, the politics of the crime issue have changed, as Democrats have fled from the “Defund the Police” and decarceration policies their party once touted.

The rollback bill, HB 1476, limits the ability to release repeat offenders on “personal recognizance,” and requires more offenders to face a judge instead of a bail commissioner. It also cuts the maximum time an arrestee can be held without seeing a judge from 72 hours to 36. 

The bill passed the House in 199-134 vote. Republicans were 135-40 in favor, while Democrats split 64-92 against.

Bill sponsor Rep. Ross Berry (R-Manchester) said the legislation leaves much of the 2018 bail reform in place while addressing the issue of repeat offenders who commit crimes while free on bail.

“This is the culmination of bipartisan effort over the last six months to address bail reform,” Berry said before Tuesday’s vote.

Crime rates across the U.S. have surged over the past two years and, while New Hampshire remains the safest state in the country, there has been an uptick in crime here, particularly in cities. Property crime in Manchester has gone up 10 percent in the past year, for example, and even Democratic Mayor Joyce Craig was on board with reforming the reform.

Craig has told NHPR repeat offenders and violent suspects should not get released on personal recognizance bail.

“However, those causing risk to our community and violent offenders should have bail restrictions imposed and should not be released on PR bail,” Craig said.

“I don’t always agree with my mayor, but we agree on this,” Berry said. “Manchester is done waiting.”

Opponents of the bill fell into two groups: Libertarian-leaning Republicans who want to limit government power as part of their ideology; and progressive Democrats who argued New Hampshire’s racist system unfairly punishes people of color.

Rep. Andrew Bouldin (D-Manchester) said changing bail reform would hurt drug addicts, homeless people, the poor, and minorities. He said amending the 2018 bill to hold repeat offenders would return the state to a system where the wealthy pay to get out of jail and the poor are stuck there.

Rep. Linda Harriott-Gathright (D-Nashua) repeated claims from Black Lives Matter leaders Ronelle Tshiela and Clifton West that police in New Hampshire are racist. According to Harriott-Gathright, changing the bail reform will lead to discrimination and mass incarceration.

“New Hampshire’s criminal laws are enforced with a staggering racial bias,” she said.

Crime data show Black Americans are arrested at approximately the same rate as the crime they commit.

In the past, Democratic leadership would be expected to “whip” the votes and keep more of their members in line. But with the passing of Minority Leader Renny Cushing, Democrats are left with Acting Minority Leader David Cote (D-Nashua), who has yet to attend a House session since COVID-19 struck and hasn’t cast a vote since 2020.

With no-show leadership, the notoriously unified Democratic caucus collapsed into factions.

Outspoken House progressives like Reps. Sue Mullen (D-Bedford), Manny Espitia (D-Nashua), and Tony Labranche (I-Amherst) voted against the bill. Traditional liberals like Rep. Casey Conley (D-Dover) and Peter Leishman (D-Peterborough) voted with the GOP.

Conley argued the issue of repeat offenders needs to be addressed. “It’s not just a Manchester problem,” he said.

Rep. Patrick Long (D-Manchester) backed the bill, saying he hears from too many residents who are getting their cars and homes broken into by the same people.

“I get the police reports and the same people are being arrested again for the same crime,” he said.

One notorious case involves Nashua resident Jency Diaz, who in December of 2020 was released on bail after a domestic violence arrest and then proceeded to return to his apartment and “punched, slapped, head-butted and whipped” the victim, leaving her with a broken nose.

Activists rejected those arguments.

“This is a harmful step that would disproportionately impact and harm Black people in New Hampshire,” the ACLU-NH said after the vote.

And Tshiela had this ominous warning for Democrats who broke ranks: “I do want to remind those who voted in favor of this bill that only supporting racial justice when it’s politically expedient does not fare too well when people remember where you stood in times like this.”

On the libertarian side, Americans for Prosperity-New Hampshire opposes the bill, claiming it “disregards our fundamental legal framework and ignores defendants’ rights, creates confusion with conflicting language, and would result in more backlog for our already strained judicial system.”

The bill passed by the House on Tuesday isn’t the only proposed change. A similar bill sponsored by Sen. Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) recently passed the Senate with a 20-4 majority. Sununu, who signed the original bail reform bill in 2018, backs the changes saying there are too many unintended consequences from the first reform.