Former U.S. Senator and candidate for New Hampshire governor Kelly Ayotte is calling on her Democratic opponent to reject an endorsement by Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, over comments the Bay State’s chief executive made after it was learned a migrant housed by the state allegedly raped a disabled child.
Ayotte, in a Monday morning statement to supporters, called on former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig to “denounce” Healey’s endorsement of her campaign.
The call comes after Cory Alvarez, a 26-year-old migrant sheltered by the state at Comfort Inn in Rockland, allegedly raped a 15-year-old disabled girl. Alvarez has pleaded not guilty in Hingham District Court to one count of aggravated rape of a child and is being held in jail ahead of a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Friday.
“It’s a horrible situation. It’s a horrible allegation. My thoughts are with the victim and her family,” Healey told Boston25. “I think we have the right systems in place. Unfortunately this is a terrible incident.”
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When asked if future acts of violence could be prevented by a more stringent vetting process, Healey said that Alvarez was in the U.S. legally according to federal law and that “it is unfortunate, from time to time, things will happen.”
According to Ayotte, the Commonwealth’s governor went too far.
“This is the problem with politicians. There are real consequences for these dangerous sanctuary policies and when the system fails our children, it is not good enough to say it will happen — it is unacceptable, and it must be fixed. Maura Healey should be ashamed of herself,” Ayotte said in a statement.
Craig received Healey’s endorsement last July, not long after she announced she would take a run at the executive seat currently occupied by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who is not seeking reelection.
Ayotte has hammered Craig on her leadership of the state’s Queen City, claiming that the Democrat supports “radical immigration policies like Sanctuary Cities” and warning that a statewide emergency declared in Massachusetts foreshadows a similar threat facing New Hampshire.
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“Unfortunately, Joyce Craig agrees with her Massachusetts mentor’s dangerous sanctuary policies and would bring this crisis to New Hampshire. Craig needs to denounce Healey’s endorsement, and once and for all condemn sanctuary policies,” Ayotte said.
Craig’s campaign staff did not return a request for comment by press time.
WILTON, N.H. (WHDH) – A woman died in a Wilton, New Hampshire, house fire Wednesday morning, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office.
At 9:08 a.m., Wilton firefighters responded to Burns Hill Road after a caller said their home was filling up with smoke. When they arrived, a single-family home was on fire and they found out two people were still inside on the second floor.
A man and a woman were both taken out of the house by firefighters and taken to Elliott Hospital. The woman was pronounced dead and the man is in serious condition.
Officials have not released the name of the victim at this time.
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At this time, investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and are trying to determine if a power outage in the area played a factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.
A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.
Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.
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Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.
In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.
During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.
When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.
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Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.
While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.
As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.
While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.
“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.
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Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.
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