A group of four men have been charged with stalking in connection with the alleged harassment and intimidation of two journalists employed by New Hampshire Public Radio, federal officials announced Friday.
Eric Labarge, 46, of Nashua, Tucker Cockerline, 32, of Salem, Michael Waselchuck, 35, of Seabrook, and Keenan Saniatan, 36, also of Nashua, indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston on charges of conspiracy to commit stalking commit interstate travel and/or use of a facility for interstate commerce, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Massachusetts.
Labarge was arrested Friday morning and will appear in federal court in Boston, while Cockerline, Saniatan and Waselchuck remain in custody after previously being arrested and charged via a criminal complaint on June 16, 2023.
NHPR journalists published an article in March 2022 detailing allegations of sexual and other misconduct by a former New Hampshire businessman, of whom Labarge was a “close personal associate,” according to the complaint.
In response to the reporting, Labarge, Cockerline, Waselchuck and Saniatan allegedly agreed to harass and intimidate both journalists and their immediate family members on five separate occasions, vandalizing their homes with bricks, softball-sized rocks and red paint .
In one of the cases of alleged vandalism, the suspects painted the phrase “JUST THE BEGINNING” in large red letters on one of the homes, the indictment showed.
Each count in the indictment carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and restitution.
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