New Hampshire

Authorities map out potential threats ahead of New Hampshire primary

Published

2 years ago

January 21, 2024

Authorities map out potential threats ahead of New Hampshire primary

Before the first ballot is cast in New Hampshire’s presidential primary, authorities are already mapping out potential threats to its election – and strategizing how to stop them, according to a new assessment by the New Hampshire Information and Analysis Center (NHIAC).

The confidential analysis, distributed to law enforcement on Jan. 17 and obtained by ABC News, describes an array of possible plots by those who might seek to disturb the first-in-the-nation primary Tuesday.

The document notes there is “no information to indicate any specific, credible threat.” But it underscores that this should not lull law enforcement and government officials into disregarding potential risks – and the grave importance of vigorously troubleshooting would-be attacks in advance.

“The NHIAC remains concerned about threats posed by foreign terrorist organizations, racially motivated violent extremists, domestic violent extremists, homegrown violent extremists, and other nation-state or criminal actors looking to disrupt the US elections,” the bulletin said.

“Numerous attacks and disrupted plots in recent years demonstrate the continued interest” of foreign and domestic extremists to prey on “mass gatherings and other soft targets,” including “symbolic events,” the bulletin said. Few political events are more symbolic than the first primary. And, officials warn, that there are those who “have the ability to disrupt, suppress, or discourage voters from participating” in New Hampshire.

The new analysis comes at the start of the high-stakes presidential election season and during a time of heightened threats of almost every type.

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump greets the crowd during a campaign rally at the Grappone Convention Center, on Jan. 19, 2024, in Concord, New Hampshire.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

“The 2024 election cycle is occurring at a time when the US is facing one of the most volatile and dangerous threat environments it’s faced since Sept. 11,” said John Cohen, the former intelligence chief at the Department of Homeland Security and now an ABC News contributor. “In today’s threat environment, the lack of credible information regarding a specific plot or attack does not mean the threat is not out there. We know the threat is there.”

A powder keg global environment looms over the 2024 presidential primary, experts say. The 2024 election was already going to be the first presidential race since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. It is also marked by increasingly toxic political rhetoric, the intermingling of the courtroom and campaign trail as former President Donald Trump faces four criminal trials, and the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. In addition, hate speech, misinformation and disinformation are running rampant on social media, and rapidly evolving technology remains vulnerable, experts say.

These circumstances present ripe opportunities for adversarial countries who have “aimed to influence US elections in the past by undermining public confidence in the electoral process and exacerbating sociopolitical divisions,” the New Hampshire analysis said.

“The current threat environment rests on the foundation of anger, the polarization that has become all too pervasive in our society. And pervasive in our political discourse as well,” Cohen said. “Election officials need to be prepared to counteract if something occurs – but you can’t wait ’til it happens.”

Some state election officials, including Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, have already been the victim of “swatting” incidents — false reports of an ongoing emergency or threat to prompt an immediate tactical law enforcement response, intended to cause fear and harass — as well as death threats and other harassment.

Public events – especially contentious political ones – offer a “convenient target for anyone already considering violence, or a way to express their grievance, or to disrupt things,” said Elizabeth Neumann, former DHS assistant secretary and an ABC News contributor. “So, we need our law enforcement to be as agile as possible.”

PHOTO: Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley reacts as former Keene Mayor George Hansel presents her with a bottle of maple syrup for her birthday, at a campaign stop in Keene, N.H., on Jan. 20, 2024. — Republican presidential candidate and former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley reacts as former Keene Mayor George Hansel presents her with a bottle of maple syrup for her birthday at a Get Out the Vote campaign stop ahead of the New Hampshire primary election in Keene, N.H., on Jan. 20, 2024.
Brian Snyder/Reuters

The New Hampshire analysis outlines potential threats from foreign “cyber operations” to “covert influence operations” targeting election security, political parties, campaigns or public officials, the analysis said. Advancing and increasingly “hyper-realistic” artificial intelligence is an “expected” tool to “spread false narratives and influence public perception.”

The bulletin also includes a detailed list of “potential threat indicators” that could signal “pre-operational surveillance or attack planning” that law enforcement officials should be on the lookout for – like suspicious and “unattended” luggage that could conceal explosives, an “increase in social media traffic discussing event vulnerabilities” as well as “loss of power at event locations, creating an inability to hold voting.”

State and local election websites, email addresses and social media platforms are “among the top election vulnerable platforms,” according to the bulletin, with phishing schemes and other efforts enabling malicious access to networks and servers “which can negatively impact elections and/or election infrastructure.”

New Hampshire holds voting “through secure, non-electronic, means,” the bulletin notes: voting is conducted “through paper ballots, counted by offline machines and are then transported to the Secretary of State’s Office, via the New Hampshire State Police.”

PHOTO: Supporters welcome Republican presidential hopeful and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley to a campaign event in Keene New Hampshire, on Jan. 20, 2024. — Supporters welcome Republican presidential hopeful and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley to a campaign event in Keene New Hampshire, on Jan. 20, 2024.
Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Record turnout is predicted in New Hampshire’s Republican primary, the state’s secretary of state, David Scanlan, predicted Friday.

The dynamic threat landscape underscores the significance of robust analyses like these, Cohen said: it offers a “roadmap” for how authorities work “to ensure that the election is safe and secure, and the public is safe and secure.”

In fact, the analysis includes a literal map of New Hampshire’s polling locations.

New Hampshire public safety officials have been going over contingency plans for the primary with their secretary of state’s office, Tyler Dumont, spokesperson for New Hampshire’s Department of Safety told ABC News. He added they’re continually mindful of what’s happening in other states and around the globe – to do everything they can to prepare for anything.

“As with all large-scale events in the state, we are working with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to ensure preparedness for any potential emergency situation,” Dumont said. “Our members are committed to ensuring all citizens can vote safely on Tuesday.”

“The threat seems daunting, but it’s less daunting if you have a plan,” Cohen said. “And we’re beginning to see that planning taking place.”

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New Hampshire

N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black

Published

11 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black

Local News

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.

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.

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.

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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New Hampshire

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

Published

23 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

It may be March, but winter in New Hampshire is far from over. Just one week after a blizzard tore through the state with heavy snow and high winds, the state is getting another round of snowfall.

The state will get three to five inches during the evening and night of Tuesday, March 3, says the National Weather Service (NWS) of Gray, Maine. While the accumulation will not be significant, the snowfall may cause dangerous road conditions and a layer of ice on the ground in certain parts of the state.

Here’s what to know before tonight’s snow in New Hampshire, including snow totals and timing.

When will it snow in NH tonight?

According to the NWS, it will start snowing in New Hampshire during mid-afternoon or early evening and continue through the night. Specifically, snow will arrive to the southern part of the state around 2-3 p.m., spreading northwards through the rest of New Hampshire by 5 p.m.

Rain or freezing rain will mix in later this evening across southern New Hampshire, creating a wintry mix. All precipitation should move out of the state by midnight.

Due to the timing of today’s snowfall, the Tuesday evening commute will be affected, with the NWS warning to slow down and exercise caution while driving.

How much snow will NH get tonight?

New Hampshire will get one to four inches of snow tonight, with one to two inches in northern New Hampshire, two to three inches in southern New Hampshire and three to four inches in the center of the state, with the possibility for five inches in localized areas.

In the Seacoast specifically, Portsmouth, Rye, Hampton and York are expected to get between two to three inches of snow, while Dover, Exeter and Rochester may get up to four.

The wintry mix may also cause a light glaze of ice across southern New Hampshire.

NH weather watches and warnings

The NWS has issued a winter weather advisory for the state of New Hampshire, in effect from 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 through 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4.