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New plea and sentencing in federal case against men who harassed New Hampshire journalists

According to the indictment, Michael Waselchuck spray-painted "JUST THE BEGINNING" on journalist Lauren Chooljian's house and threw a brick through her window, on May 21, 2022.
Courtesy
/
Lauren Chooljian
According to the indictment, Michael Waselchuck spray-painted "JUST THE BEGINNING" on journalist Lauren Chooljian's house and threw a brick through her window, on May 21, 2022.

The federal case against four men charged with harassing journalists in New Hampshire continues, with a final guilty plea and one new sentencing.

It all began in 2022, when New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) published an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct at Granite Recovery Center — a prominent addiction treatment center — by the center’s founder, Eric Spofford.

After the story was published, four men — Eric Labarge, Keenan Saniatan, Michael Waselchuck and Tucker Cockerline — were involved in five incidents of harassment and intimidation. The men vandalized reporter Lauren Chooljian's home in Massachusetts and the New Hampshire homes of Chooljian's parents and editor Dan Barrick. They threw bricks and rocks, and used red spray paint to deliver crude and threatening messages.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Boston named at least one of the men, Labarge, as a “close personal associate” of Spofford, the subject of the original misconduct story.

Spofford has claimed he had nothing to do with the attacks. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney said prosecutors could not comment on whether or not Spofford is being investigated for the incidents.

NHPR’s president, Jim Schachter, said the news department had never experienced that kind of violent response to its reporting, despite many previous stories in which journalists held powerful people to account.

“You can imagine that it shakes people up,” Schachter said. “It put people at a sense of risk they may not have felt previously. And at the same time, everybody goes on. They've never paused in doing their jobs.”

A federal grand jury indicted the four men in September 2023, and all have since pleaded guilty. Saniatan’s plea last Friday was the final one.

Two of the men have been sentenced so far. On Monday, Waselchuck received 21 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Cockerline was sentenced in late August to 27 months in prison and three years supervised release.

Labarge is scheduled to be sentenced on October 18, and Saniatan on December 6.

“We're grateful that federal authorities have persisted in pursuing this case and in bringing the perpetrators to justice,” Schachter said. “If (the prosecutions) and generally the attention that this case has drawn discourage others from attacking journalists who are just doing their jobs, then some greater good will have come from this really ugly episode.”

Spofford filed a defamation suit against NHPR for the original sexual misconduct story, but the suit was dismissed in April 2023 after a judge ruled it lacked clear evidence.

Spofford had already sold the Granite Recovery Center when the NHPR story came out. The center is now under new leadership.

Schachter said NHPR continues to cover stories related to oversight of the addiction treatment industry in New Hampshire.

The reporting expanded to a podcast, "The 13th Step." It was recognized by the duPont-Columbia University Awards, a national Edward R. Murrow Award, and was a Pulitzer finalist.

NEPM reported and edited this story independently, at the request of the NHPR newsroom. No NHPR staff or leadership had oversight or reviewed the story before it was published.

Karen Brown is a radio and print journalist who focuses on health care, mental health, children’s issues, and other topics about the human condition. She has been a full-time radio reporter for NEPM since 1998.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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