Analysis: Seacoast State Rep. Read's Gonna Keep On Truckin' After Speeding Acquittal

By Damien Fisher, NH Journal

Rep. Ellen “Bandit” Read (D-Newmarket) did what they said could never be done and got her speeding case dismissed on a technicality.

No, Smokey, not the “state representatives are allowed to run over people and not get arrested” technicality she wanted.

Instead, Read — and her nonattorney legal representative Dana “Snowman” Albrecht — were pushing the claim that the New Hampshire Constitution protects state representatives from being arrested or even given speeding tickets. But the winning argument turned out to be something no one said.

The lead-footed Read, who frequently makes headlines for her problematic behavior, was found not guilty of driving 92 miles per hour south on I-93 last year when Derry District Court Judge Todd Prevett ruled the state failed to prove the case, according to The Boston Globe. Prevett reportedly latched onto a nonfact to set Read free: The Rockingham County sheriff’s deputy who stopped her was never asked to testify about his own training and experience, according to The Globe.

Because the deputy never said he was properly trained, that meant the state did not prove that the radar equipment that recorded Read’s speed was reliable.

“That’s a far better outcome than arguing other areas of law,” Albrecht told The Globe.

Which is a good thing for Read, since The Globe reports Albrecht’s law-talking abilities on display during the two-hour trial may not have been running on all cylinders.

“[Albrecht] unsuccessfully argued a series of procedural motions and struggled to establish a factual record to support his contentions during the two-hour trial,” The Globe reported.

Read, for her part, took her own victory as proof of one of the many conspiracies that fuel her legislative career.

“I would have much rather outed the corruption in this state,” Read told The Globe. “And the reason it was ruled the way it was ruled was to prevent us from appealing it on those grounds and outing all of that corruption.”

This isn’t Read’s first time around the speeding track.

On Dec. 2, 2024, authorities alleged Read drove more than 100 mph — reportedly 107 mph in a 65-mph zone — on Interstate 93 while returning from legislative business.

The case began with a reckless operation charge. Read argued that Part II, Article 21 of the New Hampshire Constitution prohibited police from stopping or detaining legislators while they were traveling to or from the General Court. A judge rejected that argument.

Read was ultimately found guilty of the lesser, noncriminal offense of negligent driving in August 2025 and fined $1,240. Half the fine was reportedly deferred, and she was allowed to retain her license subject to conditions that included completing a safe-driving course and avoiding additional moving violations.

Both Read and Albrecht are members of the Claire Best Conspiracy Caucus. Best is a Hollywood producer who is dedicated to uncovering dastardly schemes and writing lengthy, unsolicited emails to reporters. Though difficult to make sense of, one of the CBCC theories seems to be that the CIA, the Catholic Church, and the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence are operating an international sex-trafficking ring based in Concord with various politicians.

Now that she’s free from an oppressive police state forcing her to drive at a safe speed, Read can pursue her passion: filing legislation that does not become law and collecting mileage checks.

Of the 241 legislative service requests, or LSRs — essentially prefiled bills — submitted for 2027, Ellen Read filed 48 of them. That’s 20 percent of the total.

Among them: A bill “relative to the use of unmarked or stealth police vehicles for traffic enforcement.”

She’s got a long way to go and a short time to get there.

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.