NHPR Confirms Its Journalists Targeted By Threats, Vandalism In NH, MA

CONCORD, NH — The state’s public radio network has confirmed its journalists and their families have been targeted by a vandal who has thrown bricks at and tagged numerous homes with threats.

NHPR reported online that its employees and their families were targets after the public release of information by Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Melrose Police Chief Michael Lyle on Thursday. In a statement, the network said it was “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.” The employees and families were also receiving support in the wake of “these crude, senseless attacks.”

The attacks on property and threats to their safety occurred during the past month. The latest incident, at a home on the Lynn Fells Parkway in Melrose, occurred at around 10:30 a.m. on May 21. The home has been tagged with the words, “Just the beginning,” in red spray paint and a brick was thrown through a window. The video footage was recorded on a Ring camera.

The suspect was described as white, male, with a slender build, and about 5 feet, 10 inches tall. He was wearing a blue hooded raincoat, khaki pants, and black sneakers, and was carrying a blue-green backpack.

The victim, who Ryan described as a reporter, had been targeted five times, including at homes in Concord, Hampstead, and Hanover. The homes that were targeted were connected to her either professionally or by family.

Ryan said it was unknown whether the attacks were connected to a story produced by the reporter or something she was working on that had yet been published but investigators were eyeing that angle. The network, however, appeared to not be deterred by the threats and vandalism if it was connected to a product of its journalism.

“Our reporters, producers, and editors will not be intimidated in the pursuit of New Hampshire Public Radio’s public-service mission,” the network said. “NHPR’s trustworthy journalism will continue, every day, to enrich lives and help build stronger communities, here in New Hampshire and beyond.”

Brendan McQuaid, the president of the New Hampshire Press Association, issued a statement of behalf of the organization and condemned the vandalism and threats. He said the org was distressed by the news that journalists and their family members were targeted — saying members of the press were not easily deterred.

"Any attempts to prevent journalists from freely exercising their first amendment rights is intolerable in a free society," the statement said. "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."

Investigators are asking anyone with any information about this incident or who believes they may know this individual to contact Melrose Police at 781-665-1212.

The full news conference in Massachusetts can be found here on YouTube.com. View the full press release linked here.

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