Yesterday, in a federal court in Boston, Michael Waselchuck, a 36-year-old man from Seabrook, New Hampshire, received a prison sentence for his connections to a case involving the harassment and intimidation of journalists working with New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR), according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Waselchuck, after pleading guilty in April to conspiracy charges related to stalking and using interstate commerce to intimidate, was handed a 21-month prison term followed by three years of supervised release.
Waselchuck's arrest back in June 2023 came after an April 2024 plea, the indictment included his co-defendants Eric Labarge, Tucker Cockerline, and Keenan Saniatan; the plot was sparked by a March 2022 article by NHPR journalists exposing sexual and other misconduct allegations by a New Hampshire business figure, as the prosecutors detailed, in retaliation, Labarge who was an associate of the accused solicited Cockerline to deface the properties of the journalists and yes, this led to vile acts of vandalism. Cockerline recruited Waselchuck to throw a brick through a window of one of the journalists' homes, with Labarge and Saniatan also pleading guilty and awaiting their sentences, while Cockerline received a sentence of 27 months in August 2024.
The acts of intimidation included Cockerline spray-painting a derogatory word on a garage door and leaving a threatening message at the journalists’ homes, a clear attempt to silence the press and retaliate against the act of uncovering uncomfortable truths. This case showcases the potential dangers that investigative journalists face in the pursuit of their profession when their work challenges powerful interests or exposes wrongdoing.
Judge Indira Talwani presided over the sentencing, underlining the gravity of the crimes which aimed to suppress journalistic freedom through fear, both Labarge and Saniatan continue to await sentencing, and Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy, alongside Jodi Cohen from the FBI, remarked on the collaborative effort from multiple police departments and U.S. Attorney’s Offices that led to these convictions, affirming the commitment to protect journalists from harm and threats that infringe on the critical role they serve in a democratic society.
