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Satanic Temple installs holiday display in front of New Hampshire State House – Concord Monitor

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Satanic Temple installs holiday display in front of New Hampshire State House – Concord Monitor


On one side of Concord’s City Plaza is a nativity scene. On the other is a pentagram — a symbol of Satanism — encircled by a wreath.

The display, installed by the Satanic Temple’s New Hampshire and Vermont congregation, honors the Dec. 25 Satanic holiday of Sol Invictus, which translates to “unconquered sun” in Latin.

Sol Invictus is a “celebration of being unconquered by superstition and consistent in the pursuit and sharing of knowledge,” according to the group’s website.

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The wreath, adorned with lilacs, New Hampshire’s state flower, will stay up through Dec. 31 alongside other religious and seasonal exhibits that are on display in front of the State House.

“We, like any other religion and organization, are allowed to participate in this public forum, and we are proud to stand with these other displays,” Vivian Hess-Mahan, the congregation’s co-leader and minister, said in a press release.

The Satanic Temple’s holiday display, including a Baphomet statue and 7 tenets of the religion, was placed Saturday in the city plaza in front of the NH State House. Credit: GEOFF FORESTER

This is the second annual holiday display by the Satanic Temple, which erected a statue of its part-goat, part-human deity, Baphomet, last year.

The robed figure and an accompanying plaque of the group’s guiding tenets garnered attention on social media and were repeatedly knocked down and shattered, leading Concord Police to arrest three people on vandalism charges.

The City of Concord approved the permit for the first display based on the First Amendment and to avoid a lawsuit, officials said in a statement last year.

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State Rep. Ellen Read, a Newmarket Democrat, asked the Satanic Temple to install something on City Plaza.

“As a secular lawmaker, I believe it is critical that the City of Concord does not appear to endorse one specific religion over another,” Read said in the press release, arguing that the public place of City Plaza should be “neutral and inclusive.”

“Pluralism is the heartbeat of the ‘Live Free or Die’ state,” she said. “We must ensure that no single perspective dominates the public conversation and that all groups feel safe and represented in their own government.”



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New Hampshire

Federal child care funding is being frozen across the country. New Hampshire is at risk.

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Federal child care funding is being frozen across the country. New Hampshire is at risk.


Uncertainty surrounds federal child care subsidies for New Hampshire following a Trump administration announcement that has frozen funding nationwide. On Dec. 30, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill announced on X that the Administration of Children and Families will now “require a justification and a receipt or photo evidence” before it […]



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New Hampshire

New Hampshire therapist arrested for alleged sexual assault of patient – The Boston Globe

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New Hampshire therapist arrested for alleged sexual assault of patient – The Boston Globe


A prelicensed therapist who had been practicing in Bow, N.H., was arrested Monday based on an allegation that he sexually assaulted a patient during an in-office visit, police said.

Daniel Thibeault, who faces two counts of felonious sexual assault and one count of aggravated felonious sexual assault, is being held at the Merrimack County jail pending his arraignment, according to a statement from the Bow Police Department.

Daniel Thibeault, a New Hampshire therapist arrested for alleged sexual assault of a patient.Courtesy of Bow Police Department

Thibeault had been a candidate for licensure who was subject to a supervisory agreement since May 2024, according to state records. His arrest comes after the presiding officer of the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice suspended his privileges to practice in the state in late December, citing the alleged assault.

Bow police had notified the state’s Office of Professional Licensure and Certification in early December that Thibeault was accused of sexually assaulting the patient despite her “audible demands to stop,” according to an order signed by an administrative law judge.

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The incident was reported to Bow police in August, prompting an investigation by Detective Sergeant Tyler Coady that led to a warrant being issued for Thibeault‘s arrest, police said.

Efforts to reach Thibeault for comment were unsuccessful Monday. It was not immediately clear whether he has an attorney.

Police said the investigation is considered active and ongoing. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Coady at 603-223-3956 or tcoady@bownhpd.gov.


Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.





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GameStop stores in New Hampshire to shut, including Concord, Claremont and West Lebanon – Concord Monitor

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GameStop stores in New Hampshire to shut, including Concord, Claremont and West Lebanon – Concord Monitor


The GameStop store at Fort Eddy Plaza will close this week as the struggling chain closes at least 80 of its stores across the country, including those in Claremont and West Lebanon.

The Concord store will be open Tuesday and Wednesday but will shut after that, the company said in an announcement.

Once the world’s largest retailer of video games with more than 3,200 stores around the world, including more than 2,000 in the United States, GameStop has seen sales fall for years as online gaming has grown. The chain closed some 400 stores last year.

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GameStop gained attention in 2021 for reasons not associated with its core business: It was targeted by short sellers and become one of several high-profile “meme stocks” whose price skyrocketed due to attention from a small number of social media influencers, sometimes through pictorial memes pushing for a “short squeeze” to generate large profits at the expense of short sellers and hedge funds.

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David Brooks can be reached at dbrooks@cmonitor.com. Sign up for his Granite Geek weekly email newsletter at granitegeek.org.
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