New Hampshire
N.H. man sentenced for conspiracy to harass and intimidate two NHPR journalists – The Boston Globe
A New Hampshire man was sentenced to more than two years in federal prison last week for his involvement in the harassment and intimidation of two New Hampshire Public Radio journalists, officials said.
Tucker Cockerline, 33, of Salem, N.H., was sentenced Tuesday to 27 months in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in the 2022 conspiracy, which included the vandalism of the homes of the reporters and one reporter’s parents with bricks, large rocks, and red spray paint on five separate occasions, the US attorney’s office said in a statement Thursday.
Cockerline was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in June 2023, and he pleaded guilty last December in federal court in Boston to conspiracy to commit stalking through interstate travel and using a facility of interstate commerce, prosecutors said.
He was one of four men indicted in connection with the conspiracy, alongside Eric Labarge, Michael Waselchuck, and Keenan Saniatan, prosecutors said.
Labarge and Waselchuck have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Saniatan is expected to plead guilty this month, prosecutors said.
The harassment and vandalism began after one of the journalists published an article in March 2022 detailing allegations against a former New Hampshire businessperson, prosecutors said. A second NHPR journalist contributed to the article.
Though prosecutors didn’t identify the reporters or the businessperson, the case involves NHPR’s reporting on allegations of sexual misconduct against Eric Spofford, founder of Granite Recovery Centers, a network of addiction rehabilitation centers in New Hampshire, the Globe reported.
Spofford has denied the allegations and has not been charged with any crimes related to NHPR’s reporting or the harassment campaign, the Globe reported.
In 2022, after the article was published, Labarge, who officials called “a close personal associate of” the businessperson, along with Cockerline, Waselchuck, and allegedly Saniatan, “agreed to harass and intimidate” the two journalists and their immediate family members, prosecutors said.
Cockerline and Saniatan were allegedly “solicited” to commit the vandalism and harassment by Labarge, prosecutors said.
On the night of April 24, 2022, Cockerline spray-painted a vulgar term related to female anatomy in large red letters on the front door of the first journalist’s former home in Hanover, N.H., and threw a brick through a window, the statement said.
Also that night, Saniatan allegedly spray-painted the same vulgar term on the front door of the second journalist’s home in Concord, N.H., and threw a large rock at the home, prosecutors said. He then “allegedly threw a softball-sized rock” through a window and spray-painted the same word on the first journalist’s parents’ home in Hampstead, N.H., according to prosecutors.
On May 20, 2022, Cockerline spray-painted the same word on the first journalist’s parents’ home and left a brick on the ground near the front door, prosecutors said.
Several hours later, Waselchuck, who Cockerline recruited, threw a brick through a window of the first journalist’s Melrose home and left a warning reading, “JUST THE BEGINNING!” in large red letters, prosecutors said.
Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report.
Ava Berger can be reached at ava.berger@globe.com. Follow her @Ava_Berger_.
New Hampshire
Obituary for Samuel Carlton Farrington at STRINGER FUNERAL HOME
New Hampshire
Surprise Dem frontrunner emerges in early 2028 New Hampshire presidential poll
A surprise Democratic frontrunner has emerged in an early poll of New Hampshire voters ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg came out on top in the Granite State Poll of likely Democratic Party primary voters, released on Monday.
Buttigieg garnered 19% support in the poll, the New York Post reported.
Buttigieg in the poll topped California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has for months been the favorite in legal betting markets to land the 2028 Democratic Party nomination for president.
Newsom finished second in the Granite State Poll, with 15% support.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) captured 14% in the poll, with former Vice President Kamala Harris at 11%.
Buttigieg, Newsom, AOC and Harris were the only candidates who garnered double-digit support in the poll.
Other candidates getting support in the poll included Sen. Bernie Sanders at 8% and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker at 6%.
Buttigieg is the most popular of the Dem contenders, with an 81% favorability rating.
That outpaces Newsom’s 58% favorability rating, which was good for fourth place in that category, behind Buttigieg, Sanders and AOC.
The Granite State Poll showed GOP Vice President JD Vance far ahead of the field for the 2028 Republican Party presidential nomination.
Vance got the support of 51% of likely GOP primary voters in New Hampshire.
Vance also leads the pack with a 77% approval rating, according to the poll.
Vance has for months also been the far-and-away leader on legal gambling sites for the 2028 GOP presidential nod.
Finishing a distant second in th Granite State Poll was former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, with 9%. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard got 8% in the survey.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, touted by President Donald Trump as the ideal vice-presidential running mate for Vance, polled 5% in the Granite State survey.
Rubio’s 58% favorability rating is second only to Vance’s in the poll, however.
The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution precludes Trump from seeking a third term in office.
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New Hampshire
Woman found dead by NH construction site, police seek help IDing her
A woman was found dead near a construction site in Derry, New Hampshire, on Monday, police said, asking for help identifying her.
There was no indication of foul play in the death of the woman, whose body was reported by workers about 1:25 p.m. on Birch Street near Rockingham Road, according to Derry police.
The woman was seen on video days before walking to the area alone, apparently sick or impaired, police said. She stumbled and fell as she walked past a retention pond and landed near it.
The location is hard to see from a nearby business and driveway, according to police.
They described her as being about 45 to 50, with dark blond, slightly longer than shoulder-length hair. She wore a black sweatshirt, a floral skirt about mid-thigh length and grey sneakers, but no purse, cellphone or ID.
Anyone with information about the woman’s identity was asked to call Derry police at 603-432-6111.
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