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Transgender Democrat Representative Arrested On Charges Of Stalking

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


The first openly transgender New Hampshire state representative, a Democrat, has been arrested and charged with stalking a woman. Nashua Democratic state Rep. Stacie Laughton was arrested this month and Democrats have been silent on the arrest and charges, the New Hampshire Journal reported.

Laughton has a history of being in trouble with the law and was arrested by Nasua police on November 12, Patch reported.

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 of 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.

In response to a report that Democrats were silent on the arrest another New Hampshire Democrat State representative, Rep. Timothy Horrigan, defended the lawmaker.

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“FWIW (For What It’s Worth), Rep.Laughton is a lifelong Granite Stater. She’s gotten into a lot of trouble over the years & she keeps getting into trouble, but she’s basically a good person. She’s not violent or abusive, or harmful to anyone other than herself,” he said.

He should have stayed silent.

“I don’t think the person she was stalking would feel the same way,” Republican state Rep. Kim Rice said to the New Hampshire Journal. “I am thinking that person would definitely think they were harmed. I’m shocked sitting on the [House] Judiciary Committee you would even say this.”

“And Laughton’s criminal history is far from victimless. She was convicted in 2008 of credit card fraud for stealing from a person in Laconia. In 2015, Laughton was charged with calling in a bomb threat at the Southern New Hampshire Medical Center hospital in Nashua. These charges were later dropped as Laughton claimed she was suffering from a mental health crisis at the time,” The Journal said.

“Last year, as a sitting state representative, Laughton was charged with several counts of sending false texts to the city’s 911 system. Laughton claimed she did not send the texts in question, and the state and city party did seemingly nothing about her continuing legal adventures,” it said.

In October a Democrat campaigning for the position of auditor in Arkansas was arrested on charges of making terroristic threats.

Little Rock police arrested Diamond Arnold-Johnson for felony terroristic threatening, KARK reported.

Arnold-Johnson appears to have recorded the officers’ arrival on a Facebook Livestream, including her opening the door for them.

Several uniformed Little Rock Police Department officers are seen in the video participating in the arrest.

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Arnold-Johnson is running for Arkansas state auditor. Early voting has been underway since Monday leading up to the Nov. 8 general election.

“Earlier today, we were made aware that Diamond Arnold-Johnson was arrested by Little Rock Police. Everyone has the right to due process; however, our Party firmly believes people must be held accountable for any criminal behavior, especially candidates for public office,” The Democratic Party of Arkansas said. “The Democratic Party of Arkansas did not recruit her to run for Auditor of State, and we cannot bar her from running for this position. We remain focused on working for a better Arkansas and winning races across the state.”

In December New York Democrat Legislator Anthony J. Arquiett, 56, was arrested on charges of cocaine possession and being intoxicated while driving charges, Breitbart News reported.

He became the second Democrat politician in St. Lawrence County to be arrested on charges of possession of cocaine this year.

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Arquiett, a St. Lawrence County legislator, was involved in a two-vehicle crash on December 4, according to NNY 360. The legislator allegedly told an officer, “I was heading home and I had too much to drink.” The officer searched Arquiett and allegedly found 2.5 grams of cocaine and two dextroamphetamine sulfate pills, NNY 360 reports.

His lawyer, Ed Narrow, told the New York Post that the legislator is due in court in January and he intends to plead not guilty. Narrow added that his client will not resign his seat in the legislature.

“North Country elected Democrats have a cocaine and crime problem,” upstate Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik said to The Post.

“It is a disgrace that Arquiett refuses to resign and that fellow elected Democrats are silent,” she said.

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