A New Hampshire man has been handed a 30-month prison term for his role in a conspiracy that targeted journalists with intimidation tactics. Keenan Saniatan, 36, from Nashua, was sentenced in a Boston federal court for charges relating to stalking journalists employed by New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR). According to the Department of Justice, Saniatan's crimes included the vandalism of the victims’ residences on multiple occasions using bricks, rocks, and spray paint.
In September, Saniatan pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit stalking and stalking using a facility of interstate commerce. His sentencing follows that of his co-conspirators, Tucker Cockerline and Michael Waselchuck, who were sentenced to 27 and 21 months in prison, respectively, earlier this year. Saniatan and his co-conspirators acted in response to an article published by NHPR in March 2022, which detailed alleged sexual and other misconduct by a New Hampshire businessperson referred to in the indictment as Subject 1.
The harassment campaign against the NHPR journalists involved multiple instances of vandalism. Saniatan personally defaced the home of Victim 2 and one of Victim 1’s parents with derogatory language in large red letters and threw a large rock damaging property, as per the official statement from the court. These attacks occurred on the evening of April 24, 2022, and were apparently done at the request of Eric Labarge, who is a close associate of the aforementioned businessperson accused of misconduct. Labarge was sentenced earlier in November to 46 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
These convictions come as part of a collaborative effort between multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Concord, Hampstead, and Hanover Police Departments in New Hampshire, the Melrose Police Department in Massachusetts, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire. The case against Saniatan and his accomplices was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason A. Casey and Torey B. Cummings of the Criminal Division. United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Boston Field Division, announced the sentencing, illustrating the serious consequences of actions intended to silence the free press through intimidation and violence.
