Medicaid Activists Arrested In Concord, Accused Of Refusing To Leave State Office Building

CONCORD, NH — Three political activists, including the chairwoman of the city Democratic committee, were arrested on Tuesday afternoon after being accused of refusing to leave the Legislative Office Building during a budget hearing.

Around 4:15 p.m., security at the LOB radioed New Hampshire State Police dispatch requesting backup to remove people from the state Committee of Conference hearing, debating a two-year budget.

“When troopers arrived,” Tyler Dumont, a public information officer for the state police, said, “they learned that while the security team tried to secure a committee meeting room at the end of the day, they encountered three people who had attended an earlier meeting in the room and were now refusing to leave.”

Editor's note: This post was derived from information supplied by New Hampshire State Police and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the process for requesting the removal of a name from New Hampshire Patch police reports.

Troopers and security members reportedly asked the individuals to leave “numerous times,” but despite the warning of arrest, “the group refused to leave the room inside the closed facility,” he said.

Three people were then arrested: Lisa Beaudoin, 54, of Concord, the chairwoman of the Concord City Democrats and a disability rights organizer, Sarah Chapman, 44, of Nottingham, and Juliana Good, 25, of Newmarket. They were each charged with disorderly conduct and released on personal recognizance. All three are scheduled to appear in Concord District Court on Aug. 8.

The activists were involved in a “Protect Medicaid Day of Action,” concerned about potential changes to Medicaid benefits in the state, including work requirements and other issues. Beaudoin, via Strategies for Disability Equity, stated Monday the proposed modifications would “destabilize critical healthcare services, crush working Granite Staters with monthly premiums, and drive disenrollment through paperwork chaos.” She called for “bold leadership” and “a clear action plan” to protect the program.

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