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Last weekend, more than 1,000 protesters took to city streets around the Statehouse calling for medical freedom and an end to any federal vaccine mandate. Main Street was blocked for a while and someone pointed out a man with an assault rifle.
No arrests were made.
In late September, angry protesters opposed to the federal testing mandate ended an Executive Council meeting that was to vote on funding for vaccine awareness. State officials said they feared for their safety.
No arrests have been made, but the attorney general’s office is investigating.
Last Sunday, outside Merrimack Station in Bow, state police showed up in riot gear, wearing helmets and bulletproof vests to deal with peaceful protesters who want to see New England’s last coal-fired power station closed. Bow Police and State Police arrested 18 protesters for felony trespassing and mischief. All have been booked and released, according to acting Bow Police Chief Mike French.
The three recent protests illustrate different police responses, prompting some to question the vast variations in tactics.
“It was just amazing to me,” said Chris Balch, a former Wilton State Representative and one of the protesters arrested in Bow. “Why does a landowner benefit from this protection? The Executive Council receives little protection.
Paul Raymond, public information officer for the New Hampshire Department of Security, declined to say whether or not there is a standard or “litmus test” as to when police in riot gear are sent to. event.
“The New Hampshire Department of Security is not publicly disclosing the details or tactics of the operation,” Raymond wrote.
Arnie Arnesen, former New Hampshire state representative and host of the liberal talk show The Attitude, was taken aback by the varying responses from law enforcement at the downtown Concord and Bow downtown rally.
“It’s frustrating and scary,” Arnesen said. “When you think of peace officers, what you saw at the rally on Saturday, they are peace officers. What you saw at the power plant on Sunday was … I don’t know what they were thinking.
At the Executive Council meeting, the Council was to accept $ 27 million in federal vaccine assistance. Governor Chris Sununu said the board would review the proposed contracts at its next meeting in a location that “ensures safety and security.”
After the meeting was canceled, Sununu said state employees were escorted to their vehicles by state police due to the protesters’ “unruly and aggressive” behavior.
Attorney General John Formella recently began a “facts and circumstances” review surrounding the conduct of those present at the meeting.
Arnesen is upset by the lack of consistency in the state police response between the two groups of protesters.
“I’m more than willing to say you can be consistent,” Arnesen said.
Neil Levesque, executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, which attempted to host the Executive Council meeting, said police are in a difficult position, especially when dealing with those trying to ‘be hostile. He said he doesn’t see any partisan apps.
“The police are trying to do what is right,” said Lévesque. “Most law enforcement doesn’t really care whether they are (the protesters) on the left or on the right.”
Following the Executive Council meeting, Collège Saint-Anselme decided that it would stop organizing public events in the near future.
“I have dealt with protesters for 30 years. They are not demonstrators; they’re disruptors or worse, ”said Lévesque, describing those who derailed the meeting. “They believe politics is something that should be combined with violence.”
Balch said he hoped police would take a closer look at their responses and reconsider their actions.
“My feeling is that the vast majority of them are happy to be there and to play soldier,” Balch said. “They don’t think, ‘We are here to protect and serve people.’ “
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