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Massachusetts man sentenced for threatening to blow up Arizona secretary of state – UPI.com

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Massachusetts man sentenced for threatening to blow up Arizona secretary of state – UPI.com


U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday warned those that threaten election officials will be held accountable by the Justice Department. File Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI | License Photo

March 13 (UPI) — A Massachusetts man who pleaded guilty to threatening to blow up the Arizona secretary of state in the wake of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol building has been sentenced to jail, according to prosecutors.

James Clark, 38, of Falmouth, Mass., was sentenced Tuesday to three and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of making a threatening interstate communication in August.

The conviction is the latest development in cases brought by the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force launched in June 2021 to deal with the surge in threats directed at election officials following the 2020 election that saw incumbent President Donald Trump lose to Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

Following the election, Trump led a campaign undermining the election results that would come to be known as the Big Lie, which culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection attempt.

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Prosecutors accused Clark of sending the office of then-Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs a message on Feb. 14, 2021, warning that if she did not resign within two days “the explosive device impacted in her personal space will be detonated.”

After sending the message via the Arizona secretary of state’s website, Clark searched online for Hobb’s address, according to prosecutors. Clark was also accused by prosecutors of searching Hobb’s name alongside “how to kill” as well as for information on the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013 that killed three people and injured more than 260 others.

Law enforcement conducted evacuations and bomb sweeps of the building where the Arizona Secretary of State’s office is located as well as the personal residences and official vehicles of election officials.

“Those using illegal threats of violence to intimidate election workers should know that the Justice Department will find you and hold you accountable under the law,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

“The defendant in this case will spend the next three years and six months in federal prison for threatening an Arizona election official. We will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute such unlawful threats of violence.”

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The Election Threats Task Force has brought charges against a number of people accused of threatening election workers, with many of the alleged crimes targeting Arizona officials.

On Feb. 28, an Alabama man was arrested and charged over leaving Arizona election officials in Maricopa County nearly 20 threatening messages on social media in August of 2022.

On Feb. 27, an Indiana man pleaded guilty to threatening to kill a Michigan election worker in the days following the 2020 general election.

Hobbs, who has since been elected the governor of Arizona, has also been the subject of several of the threats.

Amid her gubernatorial race, a 64-year-old Iowa man was arrested for threatening her and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in connection to debunked claims of voter fraud in the state during the 2020 general election.

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“Public servants who ensure our free and fair elections must be able to do their jobs without fear,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said Tuesday in a statement. “The Criminal Division will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who target election officials with threats of violence.”



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Massachusetts

Massachusetts golf instructor claims Jayson Tatum among Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins he's teaching

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Massachusetts golf instructor claims Jayson Tatum among Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins he's teaching


Dan Boisvert has given golf lessons to a lot of people, but one of his students stands out even though he’s not known for golf.

He’s Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who is known more for driving to the basket than driving a golf ball.

Boisvert worked with Tatum for a few years while he was a teaching pro at KOHR Golf Center and more recently at Pin High Golf, the indoor golf facility he opened in North Grafton, Massachusetts, in February 2022. Tatum’s most recent lesson at Pin High was late last summer just before Celtics training camp began. Boisvert also has given Tatum lessons at the simulator that Tatum installed in his Boston area home.

The two have played about 15 rounds of golf together at such clubs as Worcester Country Club, Old Sandwich Golf Club in Plymouth and Belmont CC.

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Tatum doesn’t take golf lessons during the Celtics season, but Boisvert keeps in touch with him year round. Tatum texts Boisvert once in a while to offer him Celtics tickets, usually at the last minute.

“I have to rearrange my whole schedule, but I don’t miss out on those,” the 36-year-old Worcester resident said.

What’s it like teaching an NBA star?

“It’s easy,” Boisvert said. “When you have an athlete who plays at that level, they’re understanding of movements and work ethic, and the process of getting better at something is just better than the average person.”

So who wins when Boisvert and Tatum play golf?

“I crush him,” Boisvert said with a laugh.

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Boisvert said the best score he’s seen Tatum shoot is an 85, but he estimates that the Celtics star has played only 40 rounds in his life. Boisvert’s best round was a 7-under 65 at the Legends Golf Course in Parris Island, South Carolina.

Boisvert carries a handicap of a plus 1.8 even though he plays only about 20 rounds a year. He plays in the qualifiers for the U.S. Open and Massachusetts Open to get a feel for tournament competition and to relate to his students. He hasn’t qualified yet, however, and he’s never wanted to play professional golf.

What is Tatum like on the golf course?

“He’s awesome,” Boisvert said.

Tatum parks his Mercedes Maybach in front of Pin High, but Boisvert said no one has seemed to notice.

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Boisvert also has taught Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, former Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask, former Bruins forward Ryan Donato, former Red Sox outfielders Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr., former Celtic forward Grant Williams and former Patriots nose tackle Carl Davis.

Boisvert also taught several members of the Paul Fireman family. Fireman is a former owner of Reebok and owns several golf courses, including Willowbend CC.

Dan Boisvert

Dan Boisvert of Pin High Golf in Massachusetts. (Photo: Bill Doyle/Special to the Telegram & Gazette)

Boisvert said he doesn’t ask his famous students for autographs or photos, and he thinks that’s one of the reasons they continue to see him.

Boisvert grew up on Chester Street in Worcester and graduated from Holy Name High School in 2006. He pitched, played shortstop and majored in criminal justice at Anna Maria College, but left after his sophomore year and moved to Hilton Head, South Carolina, to try to make a career out of golf.

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That was quite a leap of faith for someone who played golf only about twice a year until the previous summer.

“I just took a huge risk,” Boisvert said. “My dad (Paul) was very supportive. My mom (Nancy) was nervous.”

He got hooked on the game that summer after his freshman year of college while lowering his average score from 95 to 75 at such courses as Wachusett CC and Kettle Brook GC. He’d hit about 300 balls three days at Wachusett, Tatnuck Driving Range or Auburn Driving Range.

While working towards a two-year degree in golf management at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, Boisvert volunteered at anything golf-related he could find. He assisted a junior golf academy conducted by Hank Haney, Tiger Woods’ former coach, and offered his services to Andrew Rice, another renowned golf instructor. He helped run junior golf tournaments, he was a starter and a rules official, and he marked up courses before tournaments. He wasn’t paid anything, but he learned a lot about golf.

After earning his degree, he went to work for Bill McInerney at McGolf driving range in Dedham for three years. There he spent time with Tom Brady’s sons Benny and Jack. The Patriots great would hit balls to the side and sometimes he’d ask Boisvert to critique his swing.

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“He was always more worried about his kids than himself,” Boisvert said, “which I thought was great. Super focused on what the kids were doing and them having fun.”

Then Boisvert worked at McInerney’s KOHR Golf Center for seven years before he opened Pin High Golf in the former Trek Stop Bicycles shop two years ago.

Boisvert taught many top golfers from the Boston suburbs, and they followed him to North Grafton. He figures his average student has been with him for eight years. Among his many students are 37 in college and 50 or 60 in high school. The college students include the last two Worcester County Amateur champions, Weston Jones, a Rutgers junior from Sudbury, and Sean Magarian, an Assumption senior from Worcester, as well as Matt Quinn, a Lehigh freshman from Holden.

Ever since he began working at McGolf, Boisvert has taught reigning New England Amateur champion Joey Lenane, a Dedham resident and North Carolina State junior who tied for eighth in the ACC championship last Sunday.

He also teaches Shannon Johnson, the Norton resident who won the 2018 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and captured the Mass Golf Women’s Player of the Year for the fifth time last year.

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“I just want to work with people who are committed to getting better,” Boisvert said. “If they’re just coming in to do a one-off, it’s not really for me.”

Boisvert spent about $150,000 to renovate the building and install two Trackman golf simulators on the first floor and 1,500-square feet of chipping and putting space on the second floor. He even hung a basketball hoop a few weeks ago. Tatum hasn’t seen the hoop yet, but he is aware of it.

“I’m sure he will get a few shots off next time he’s in,” Boisvert said.



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Second Massachusetts Town Spurns State TOD Zoning Mandate

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Second Massachusetts Town Spurns State TOD Zoning Mandate


According to the Patriot Ledger, voters at a town meeting in Marshfield, Massachusetts (pop. 25,905), rejected a proposed plan that would pave the way for transit-oriented development. The proposal to rezone 84 acres to allow multifamily housing would have brought the town into compliance with the statewide MBTA Communities Act, which requires “177 towns and cities across Massachusetts designate at least one zoning district within a half mile of public transportation that allows for multifamily housing by right,” reports Hannah Morse.

Marshfield residents’ rejection of the state mandated zoning change comes two months after voters in Milton, Mass. (pop.  27.003) revoked their previously approved zoning changes, which prompted the state to sue the town and cancel a $144,800 grant for a local seawall.

Marshfield has until December 31, 2024 to submit plans to the state that zone for a minimum 1,185 units, or 10 percent of its housing stock (Milton’s deadline was the end of last year), but Morse reports that Marshfield Town Counsel Bob Galvin told residents in advance of the vote that he believes the state will sue immediately and that their case could be combined with Milton’s.

“If you’re expecting them to rule that this state law is illegal, I think, being candid with all of you, we’re likely to be unsuccessful,” Galvin told town meeting attendees. 

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Saturday’s high school scores from Massachusetts

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Saturday’s high school scores from Massachusetts


BASEBALL

Austin Prep 14, Hamden Hall 5

BC High 15, Falmouth 7

Carver 4, Nantucket 1 (Game 1)

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Carver 7, Nantucket 4 (Game 2)

Cathedral 22, New Mission 21

Greater Lawrence 10, Northeast 4

Hamilton-Wenham 8, Amesbury 3

Lowell Catholic 6, Dover-Sherborn 5

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Manchester Essex 12, Rockport 7

Minuteman 11, Muniz 1

Monomoy 11, Nantucket 0

Newburyport 9, Essex Tech 6

Norwell 6, Plymouth South 4

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Rockland 11, Hull 9

St. Mark’s 3, Belmont Hill 0

Scituate 9, Silver Lake 4

Tabor 9, BB&N 8 (9i)

Tewksbury 9, Winchester 1

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Triton 2, Pentucket 0

Westford Academy 20, Billerica 2

BOYS LACROSSE

Brookline 10, Cambridge 9 (2ot)

Concord-Carlisle 6, Newburyport 5

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Dracut 4, Grafton 2

Hingham 8, Pinkerton Academy 4

Lincoln-Sudbury 13, Marshfield 6

Malden 10, Lowell 2

Manchester-Essex 11, Triton 9

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Natick 12, Wayland 8

Nantucket 14, Bishop Stang 1

Needham 16, Bridgewater-Raynham 4

Norwell 20, Hull 1

Portsmouth Abbey 18, Berwick 3

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Quincy/North Quincy 21, Somerville 6

Scituate 9, Nauset 5

St. John’s Prep 14 Billerica 8

St. John’s Shrewsbury 15, Shrewsbury 2

Weston 14, Masconomet 9

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Whitman-Hanson 9, Barnstable 6

GIRLS LACROSSE

Bedford 15, North Reading 1

Beverly 17, Bishop Fenwick 3

Central Catholic 14, Wellesley 12

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Greater Lowell 11, Monty Tech 4

Lowell 14, Malden 8

Nantucket 17, Dennis-Yarmouth 3

Nauset 8, Martha’s Vineyard 4

Noble & Greenough 17, St. Mark’s 5

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North Quincy 12, Sharon 8

Westford Academy 13, Andover 12 (ot)

SOFTBALL

Atlantis Charter 20, Nantucket 8

Central Catholic 3, Amesbury 0

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English 24, Mashpee 13

Lexington 11, Andover 10

Middleboro 5, Greater New Bedford Voke 2

Milton Academy 9, Lawrence Academy 0

Newton North 7, Wakefield 6

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Norwell 10, Cohasset 9

O’Bryant 19, English 3

O’Bryant 13, Martha’s Vineyard 7

BOYS TENNIS

Andover 5, North Andover 0

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Lowell Catholic 3, Tyngsboro 2

Martha’s Vineyard 4, Nantucket 0

GIRLS TENNIS

Masconomet 3, Marblehead 2

Nantucket 4, Martha’s Vineyard 1

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Thayer 9, Tabor 0



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