Nashua State Representative Laughton Arrested Again

NASHUA, NH — An elected Democrat in Nashua, with a number of prior arrests, has been charged again by police.

State Rep. Stacie Laughton (D-Nashua) was arrested Tuesday on seven counts of penalty for false information, all misdemeanors. Police accuse Laughton of misuse of the state’s 911 texting system.

“From May 2021 to July 2021, officers from the Nashua Police Department’s Uniform Field Operations Bureau responded to (an apartment on) Elm Street on several occasions due to text messages being sent to the state of New Hampshire E-911 center from a telephone number associated with Laughton,” Capt. Matthew DiFava of the bureau. “On each occasion, it was determined there was no emergency by officers.”

After the seventh incident, police applied for an arrest warrant against Laughton, which was approved.

“This investigation is still ongoing and additional charges are expected,” DiFava added.

Laughton was released on personal recognizance bail and is due in Nashua District Court on Aug. 31. Each count is punishable by up to a year in the county jail as well as fines if she is convicted.

Laughton is no stranger to police.

In 2008, she was convicted on conspiracy to commit credit card fraud and falsifying physical evidence charges when she was living in Laconia as a man.

About four years later, she was on the ballot to run for state representative in Nashua and was elected in November 2012 — the first transgender elected official in New Hampshire and one of only a handful across the United States. After her election, her felony status and jail time came to light. After talking with state Democrats and eyeing the media coverage, Laughton resigned.

A special election was then scheduled a few weeks later and Laughton signed up to run again. However, officials determined she was ineligible to hold public office, according to state law, because she had not completed her sentence — her sentence included a 10-year good behavior clause and a restitution requirement.

A few years later, Laughton was arrested on a felony charge, accused of making a bomb threat against the Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in February 2015. She blamed “mental illness” for the bomb threat incident.

After paying restitution on the fraud charge from 2008, Laughton was allowed to run for office again in 2019. She was elected to serve as a selectman in Ward 4 and then, was elected to serve as one of three Ward 4 state representatives in November 2020.

Anyone with any information about this case is asked to contact the Nashua Police Department Crime Line at 603-589-1665.

Laughton did not return an email to Patch before the publication of this story.

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

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