Police in Goffstown, New Hampshire, have charged a man for confronting Senate candidate Don Bolduc (R-NH) before a debate Wednesday night.
Joseph Hart, 37, was taken into custody and charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct for rushing up to Bolduc outside the debate at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics on the Saint Anselm College campus.
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Bolduc’s campaign claimed the protester “took a swipe” at the Republican.
Hart is a self-described libertarian and anti-war activist.
“They were calling him a war criminal. And then, one of them must have said something or took a swing at him when he was over there shaking hands with his supporters. … That’s when all hell broke out,” senior campaign adviser Rick Wiley previously told the Washington Examiner.
The activist appears to rush up to Bolduc and get close to the Senate candidate but never touches him in a video provided to the Washington Examiner by Ian Freeman, Chao Kelly, and Christopher Waid.
Multi-angle video of @GenDonBolduc lying to have Joa from “Breaking the Flaw” arrested. Bolduc claims he was hit, when the video proves Bolduc actually hit Joa. More angles may be coming soon, but these two make it pretty clear. @jeremykauffman @DrKarlynB @ft_loose @LPNH pic.twitter.com/wpq8LRcm9u
— Ian Freeman (@FTL_Ian) November 3, 2022
Once the chaos began and others confronted Hart, it appeared Bolduc was physically touched by some individuals, but not Hart. Bolduc is heard saying, “He hit me.”
Hart was “processed and released on personal recognizance bail” and is scheduled to be arraigned on Dec. 1, per police.
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In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Hart called the charges against him “bull” and claimed Bolduc assaulted him and then lied about it. Hart returned to the Goffstown Police Department on Thursday to file a criminal complaint against the Republican, alleging Bolduc “elbowed me.”
“It’s clear as day that he assaulted me and then incited the police and his supporters that I hit him,” Hart said. “It’s not true. And I want to get him for slander. … Bolduc should be arrested.”
Police say they are investigating, while Bolduc’s team dismissed Hart as a “muckraker who wanted a confrontation.”
As for criminal charges against the Republican candidate, Wiley said, “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
The confrontation comes as threats of violence against politicians have made headlines, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) husband being assaulted by a home intruder who was looking for the prominent Democrat and a man being arrested on charges of making a threat to “mutilate and kill” gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey (R-IL).
Bolduc is in a tight Senate race against incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), with RealClearPolitics rating the race as a “toss up” and the Republican recently taking the lead in the RCP polling average by 0.3 percentage points.
Marisa Schultz contributed to this story.
