A second man who allegedly harassed and intimidated New Hampshire Public Radio journalists and their families, including throwing bricks at homes, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges, the Massachusetts US Attorney’s office said.
Michael Waselchuck, 36 of Seabrook, N.H., pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Boston to conspiracy to commit stalking through interstate travel and the use of a facility of interstate commerce, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 10.
Waselchuck was arrested and charged, along with Tucker Cockerline and Keenan Saniatan, in June, 2023, prosecutors said. They were indicted by a federal grand jury, along with Eric Labarge, in September, 2023.
Cockerline pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy in December, prosecutors said.
The harassment and vandalism started after one of the journalists published an article, after a year-long investigation, in March 2022, detailing allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct by a former New Hampshire businessperson, the Globe reported. A second NHPR journalist also contributed to the article.
After the article was published, Labarge, Saniatan, Cockerline and Waselchuck allegedly agreed to harass and intimidate the reporters, the Globe reported.
On April 22, 2022, Labarge asked Cockerline to use a brick and red spray paint to vandalize the home of one of the reporters in Hanover, N.H., prosecutors said. Two days later Cockerline spraypainted a vulgarity large red letters on the front door and allegedly threw a brick through an exterior window of the home.
The vandalism was repeated at homes in Hanover and Hampstead, N.H. and Melrose, Mass., officials said.
Adam Sennott can be reached at adam.sennott@globe.com.
