Submitted by DeerFlyHater t3_yuwq06 in newhampshire
I know with a 400 member body, you're going to get some oddballs on each side of the aisle. Here is the latest.
https://patch.com/new-hampshire/nashua/nashua-democrat-state-rep-arrested-again-accused-stalking
NASHUA, NH — A Nashua Democrat, with several prior arrests, is in trouble with the law again after being accused of at least two incidents of stalking in nearby Hudson.
State Rep. Stacie Marie Laughton, 38, was arrested by Nashua police on Saturday on a warrant out of Hudson on a violation of stalking order charge. She is being held in the Valley Street Jail in Manchester.
Limited information is available about the case. But Lt. Roger Lamarche, the second shift commander of the Hudson Police Department, confirmed the arrest and charge. Laughton was accused by police of communicating with the victim on social media on Nov. 8.
The protective order was filed against Laughton, who also serves as a city selectman, on July 25.
According to Lamarche, this was not the first time Laughton was arrested on charges for communicating with the victim. She was accused of stalking and harassment in late August and was arrested in early September.
It would appear Laughton was able to keep the September arrest under wraps and away from voters. She easily placed second out of four candidates for another term as a state representative serving Ward 4 District 3 with 841 votes. State Rep. David Cote, another Democrat, who is also the minority leader of the House, placed first with 894 votes, while Fred Davis placed third with 778 votes. Joost Baumeister, the only Republican on the ballot, placed fourth, receiving 668 votes.
These two arrests are not the first time Laughton has been charged.
She was arrested in July 2021 on seven counts of penalty for false information, accused of misusing the state’s 911 texting system. According to a report on Patch, she claimed she was being spoofed at the time.
In 2008, she was convicted of conspiracy to commit credit card fraud and falsifying physical evidence charges while living in Laconia as a man.
About four years later, she was on the ballot to run for state representative in Nashua and was elected in November 2012 — the first transgender elected official in New Hampshire and one of only a handful across the United States at the time. After her election, her felony status and jail time came to light. After talking with state Democrats and eyeing the media coverage, Laughton resigned.
A special election was scheduled a few weeks later, and Laughton signed up to run again. However, officials determined she was ineligible to hold public office, according to state law, because she had not completed her sentence — her sentence included a 10-year good behavior clause and a restitution requirement.
A few years later, Laughton was arrested on a felony charge, accused of making a bomb threat against the Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in February 2015. She blamed “mental illness” for the bomb threat incident.
After paying restitution on the fraud charge from 2008 and serving the good behavior clause, Laughton was allowed to run for office again in 2019. She was elected selectman in 2011, 2019, and 2021. Laughton was elected state representative in 2020.