A Quincy construction executive pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he shoved a 69-year-old woman to the ground during an immigration protest on Nantucket this past summer, a case that has drawn attention to both his prominent construction company and the rare outbreak of violence at an island demonstration. Lee M. Kennedy, 62, CEO of Lee Kennedy Co., entered his plea in Nantucket District Court to a felony charge of assault and battery on a person over 60 and a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge.
The arraignment, originally postponed from September 8, had been delayed while Kennedy's defense team pushed for a pre-trial diversion that would have dismissed the charges before he ever had to enter a plea, according to Boston.com. The Cape and Islands District Attorney's office rejected that request, and defense attorney James Merberg told the court Thursday that a potential resolution could be presented at a pretrial hearing scheduled for November 17, according to The Inquirer and Mirror. Judge John M. Julian, who presided over the arraignment, set that November date and ordered Kennedy to stay away from and have no contact with the alleged victim while the case remains pending, per Nantucket Current.
What Happened During the July Vigil
The alleged victim has been identified as Laura Anderson, a 69-year-old woman who has lived on Nantucket for 46 years. She told police she was pushed into a pile of bricks on the sidewalk across from the Nantucket Yacht Club during the July 25 vigil, sustaining bruises and lingering psychological anxiety from the encounter, the Inquirer and Mirror's report notes. According to the police report cited by Boston.com, Anderson needed help getting back up after falling and was medically evaluated at Nantucket Cottage Hospital the following day.
Police reports and witness accounts state that Kennedy forced his way through the crowd along South Water and South Beach streets, shouting “you people are crazy” before pushing Anderson to the ground, the same outlet's coverage from July reported. Boston.com's review of the police report also states that Kennedy admitted to officers that he pushed someone to the ground while walking through the crowd. South Beach Street was described in the report as busy with heavy pedestrian, cyclist, and vehicle traffic at the time.
Passersby reportedly stopped and stared as Kennedy yelled and walked into the street, per the police account referenced by Boston.com, and people across the street stopped to watch the commotion. Some bystanders yelled at Kennedy while others recorded the scene on their cellphones. A spokesperson for Kennedy said in July that he did not shove anyone and expressed confidence that the truth would become clear.
A Peaceful Protest Turns Chaotic
The vigil was organized by Indivisible Nantucket, a group that has held numerous rallies against the Trump administration during his second term. The July 25 demonstration began at Children's Beach before participants marched through downtown Nantucket, and it was intended to protest the president's second-term immigration enforcement policies and to honor two men killed by federal immigration agents on the Massachusetts mainland earlier that month, according to the Inquirer and Mirror. The paper's reporting notes that the incident marked the first physical altercation at an Indivisible Nantucket event since the group began holding protests in 2017.
Security for the vigil included three Nantucket police officers and nine community service officers, and an NPD supervisor personally witnessed the physical disturbance as protesters moved down South Beach Street near Whalers Lane, the Inquirer and Mirror reported.
Felony Exposure Under Elder Protection Law
Kennedy's felony charge falls under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265, Section 13K, which criminalizes assault and battery on a person 60 years of age or older. Under the statute, the offense carries penalties of up to three years in state prison, up to two-and-a-half years in a house of correction, or a fine of up to $1,000, according to the Serpa Law Office. Potential sentences can increase to five or ten years if bodily or serious bodily injury is established under the law.
A Prominent Name in Massachusetts Construction
Kennedy leads Lee Kennedy Co., a Quincy-based general contractor that was ranked in 2023 as Massachusetts' 15th largest general contractor and 17th largest family-run business, employing more than 200 people, according to the Boston Business Journal. He stepped down as the company's president in late December 2024 to focus solely on his role as chief executive, appointing co-presidents to handle day-to-day operations, the business journal reported. The firm has led major public projects including Quincy's Net Zero Squantum Elementary School, and Kennedy has also served in civic roles such as chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester, according to the company's own news page.
Hoodline previously reported on Lee Kennedy Builders' role managing crane dismantling work that disrupted Boston traffic earlier this year, underscoring the company's visibility in regional construction circles well before the Nantucket case drew scrutiny to its CEO.
With Kennedy having entered his not-guilty plea, the case now heads toward the November 17 pretrial hearing, where defense counsel has signaled a resolution could be discussed. It remains unclear whether that resolution will take the form of a plea agreement, and whether Anderson intends to pursue civil action alongside the ongoing criminal case.
