June 2 – A bag of unused diapers arrived at the New London County State’s Attorney’s Office last month.
There was no message in the package, so the staff didn’t know what to think at first. Dozens of members of the judicial staff, including judges, would later receive an email from Connecticut Port Authority critic Kevin Blacker of Noank to provide an explanation.
‘I have thought about it. State vs. Kevin Blacker is the case. I am being prosecuted by employees of the state before a judge who is an employee of the state. I am encouraged to get a public defender. Paid by the state?”, the message begins.
“Joining means giving in, often under pressure. Those diapers that I sent to the Public Prosecution Service were intended to make it clear that I will not do that,” the email says.
Blacker, the Green Party’s 2022 congressional candidate, prepares for what would be a rare jury trial in a criminal mischief and vandalism case surrounding the repainting of state signs leading to the State Pier in New London in August 2020 . said it was intended to protest the transformation of State Pier into an offshore wind hub.
As for the diapers, Blacker said, “Some in the DA’s office are contumacious babies.”
“They want this to go away,” Blacker said of his lawsuit. “I want a fight. I don’t want to make it easy for them. I want there to be a fight because there is a big issue here that is worth fighting for.”
Cases like Blacker’s are often removed from the court docket with a plea deal that includes a restitution agreement. However, Blacker said he rejected the state’s offer to repay the $586 in exchange for a “nolle prosequi,” or nolle, on principle. A nolle is a term used to indicate that the state will not prosecute a charge, but has the option to extend the prosecution for an additional thirteen months.
Blacker is due back in court on July 8.
Blacker claims his case illustrates an abuse of power because major investigators showed up to interview him about what he considers a simple act of civil disobedience. He was also initially charged with a misdemeanor based on an incorrect $1,663 repair cost estimate submitted by David Kooris, chairman of the port authority’s board of directors. The state Department of Transportation, which owns the signs, later submitted an estimate of $1,343 for repairs before admitting an error and adjusting the figure to $586.
Prosecutors dropped the charge of first-degree criminal mischief and replaced it with one charge of second-degree criminal mischief, based on the new estimate for repairs.
The 2020 incident was not the first or last interaction Blacker has had with police. It was the first of two arrests. He admitted to painting pink stripes on the Capitol doors in 2023 and quickly paid restitution to resolve that case. The pink paint is a nod to the 2005 case Kelo v. New London about the use of eminent domain to seize homes in New London’s Fort Trumbull neighborhood, including Susette Kelo’s pink house.
During a 2019 Transportation Committee hearing regarding the Connecticut Port Authority, Blacker was questioned by state police at the State Capitol about an email he sent to Governor Ned Lamont with the subject line “Governor Lamont is a yellow belly, my blood will be on his hands.”
In 2020, police led him away from a Connecticut Port Authority meeting where he was protesting the signing of a port development agreement that would later transform State Pier.
Blacker, who represented himself at hearings in his latest case, has already tried unsuccessfully to file a claim of “vindictive persecution,” arguing that he is being treated differently because he is an outspoken activist.
Blacker said he was given another chance to resolve the case without a trial. He said when Judge Jassette A. Henry asked what would be required. Blacker said he agreed to pay the restitution but also wants an apology from prosecutors and the Connecticut State Police Eastern District Major Crime Squad, “or whoever sent them.”
His email to court staff about the case prompted a response from Judge John M. Newson, administrative judge for the New London Judicial District and the presiding judge on all criminal cases.
Newson, in a May 10 email widely shared by Blacker, asks Blacker not to communicate his grievances to court staff and judges.
“You have chosen your right to trial to compel the State to prove that you committed the offenses charged ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ and, to the extent that the political or other issues you allege are considered relevant, you can However, being able to enter that information into evidence when your trial begins is not appropriate and may not have any impact on the prosecution of your case. Newson wrote.
Blacker said he has received help from well-known Connecticut attorney Norm Pattis, but is unsure if he has the money to pay Pattis for the trial. A representative from the law firm of Norman A. Pattis said Pattis is on trial and could not comment at this time.
Blacker said he thinks the trial is an opportunity to gain attention for his interests and exercise freedom of speech.
“People may think I’m crazy, but I exercise the rights I have. You can’t have government officials just calling in state police on critics,” he said. “I use my freedom of expression and no one can take revenge on me. They did.
“I’m using this process (because) I think what happened at State Pier is rotten and worthless. It was illegal and unfair and I don’t want to just accept it,” Blacker said.
Assistant State’s Attorney David Smith, who is overseeing the prosecutions in Geographic Area 10 where the diapers were delivered and Blacker’s case is being handled, declined to comment on the case but indicated the diapers would be donated to someone in need .
New London County State’s Attorney Paul Narducci also declined comment.
g.smith@theday.com
