New Hampshire Public Radio reported its journalists and their family members have received threats and been the targets of vandalism over the last month.
“NHPR is working closely with local, state, and federal law enforcement to support their investigations of these incidents, in hopes that the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Likewise, we are supporting in every way possible the victims of these crude, senseless attacks,” NHPR stated on its website.
In Massachusetts, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Melrose Chief of Police Michael Lyle are seeking to identify the man, pictured here, in connection with an incident where a brick was thrown into a window of a home on Lynn Fells Parkway in Melrose, according to a press release issued by the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office.
At approximately 10:30 a.m. on May 21, the victim, who lives at the home, reported to police that a brick had been thrown through a window and that the message “just the beginning” was spray painted on the house, according to the release. The victim also reported that three other properties located in NH had also recently been vandalized by brick throwing and spray painting. The victim informed police that the Melrose incident was captured on a Ring doorbell. That video can be viewed here.
The images on the camera suggest that the suspect is a white male with a slender build, and may be approximately 5’10” tall, according to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office The suspect is seen wearing a light blue hooded rain coat, khaki pants and black sneakers. The suspect is also wearing a blue-green backpack. After the brick is thrown, the suspect is seen fleeing the scene towards Lincoln Street in Melrose.
The subsequent investigation revealed that the victim, who works as a reporter at NH Public Radio, has been targeted on five separate occasions, including in Concord, Hampstead and Hanover, NH at residences connected to her. Police are looking at her recent work to determine if there is any connection with the incidents of vandalism.
The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and Melrose Police are working with the NH Attorney General’s Office as part of their investigation.
“Violence against journalists has increased at an alarming rate, in America and around the world. NHPR condemns attempts to intimidate or harm journalists, here in New Hampshire or anywhere else,” NHPR states on its website. “Our reporters, producers and editors will not be intimidated in the pursuit of New Hampshire Public Radio’s public-service mission. NHPR’s trustworthy journalism will continue, every day, to enrich lives and help build stronger communities, here in New Hampshire and beyond.”
Reaction from NH’s news media has been swift, condemning the threats and supporting their colleagues. “The New Hampshire Press Association is distressed by the news that New Hampshire journalists and their family members have been the victims of targeted vandalism at homes in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Any attempts to prevent journalists from freely exercising their first amendment rights is intolerable in a free society,” states Brendan McQuaid, president of the NH Union Leader and NH Press Association, on behalf of the NH Press Association’s members.
“We hope the perpetrators of these heinous acts are swiftly brought to justice and implore the public to assist law enforcement with identification of those responsible. Members of the press are not easily deterred. Our thoughts at the NHPA are with our fellow journalists,” McQuaid states.
The Granite State News Collaborative, a collective of nearly 20 local media, education and community partners, including NHPR and Business NH Magazine, working together to produce and share news stories, also condemned the acts and offered support for its colleagues.
“These journalists are our colleagues, partners in our collaborative and friends. They, like the rest of us in the field, do this work as a service to all of our communities. Cowardly acts of vandalism or violence against these or any journalist should not be tolerated by our communities. This should be unacceptable to all of us,” states Melanie Plenda, director of the Granite State News Collaborative, on behalf of the collaborative’s members. “We are appalled at these acts and urge anyone with information to alert the proper authorities to bring the perpetrator to justice. As for our partners at NHPR, we stand in solidarity with you and your families.”
Anyone with any information about this incident or who believes they may know the individual in the picture can contact Melrose Police at 781-665-1212.
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