Local Gun Advocate Tasered at Rally

An anti-gun violence rally at the Statehouse plaza on Tuesday turned ugly when gun rights supporters turned out to protest the event and one pro-gun advocate had to be Tasered by Concord Police after resisting their efforts to detain him.

Daniel Musso, 52, of Brentwood attempted to interject while John Cantin of Manchester was speaking about his efforts to influence U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, on the background check issue. 

Musso, who was wearing a pro-Native American rights T-shirt, asked Cantin to take his glasses off and later, challenged Cantin's statements and statistics. Private security hired by the Mayors Against Illegal Guns group asked Musso to leave but he didn't budge. After a few minutes, Musso threw up his hands and left Cantin's side. 

Later, police were led by the private security team to the Musso's location, interspersed with other gun rights advocates and began speaking with him. A scuffle broke out and three officers attempted to subdue Musso. 

The three officers eventually pinned Musso up against the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce information booth in the plaza and repeatedly warned him to stop resisting while he denied he was resisting. An officer kneed Musso and he was then Tasered by another officer and brought to the ground before being taken into custody.

Musso was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and two counts of simple assault, allegedly against a person who was attending the rally and a police officer. He was held on $5,000 cash bail, and will be on arraigned June 19. 

Police issued an all-units alert to Main Street, with at least eight or nine cruisers at the scene, and a number of state troopers. 

The 5 p.m. rally was organized by the Mayors Against Illegal Guns group, which is in the process of visiting 25 states this summer to raise awareness about gun violence and the group’s belief that more laws are needed.

Things started to get rowdy shortly after the rally began, as gun rights advocates staged their own counter rally.

Some gun rights advocates at the scene were yelling things like "Bloomberg go home!" trying to interrupt the proceedings, but the speaker just continued, speaking louder. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is part of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns effort.

As of 6 p.m. the anti-gun rally was continuing, with organizers continuing to read a list of names of gun violence victims.