NH House speaker issues statement against white nationalist

Sign Up For Our FREE Daily eNews!

DSC 9788
Sherman Packard (R-Londonderry) on March 22, 2023. Photo/Andrew Sylvia

CONCORD, N.H. – On Friday, New Hampshire House of Representatives Speaker Sherman Packard (R-Londonderry) released statement confronting e-mails from Lakes Region-based White Nationalist Ryan Murdough attacking state representatives.

This week, Murdough praised Packard for holding a house session on the first full day of Passover, a move that was challenged by Amanda Toll (D-Keene) and other state representatives who considered the date to be inappropriate gesture toward Jewish state representatives.

April 6 is the deadline for bills originating out of the House to be sent to the Senate.

Murdough has also targeted state representatives who have supported LGBTQ+ bills in recent weeks, stating that they should not be allowed to represent the public due to their views.

Packard did not mention Murdough by name, but said that he does not condone violence against others, hate speech, or any type of speech that marginalizes any particular group because of their beliefs, race, or personal life choices.

“We live in a country that was built upon the idea that anybody has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” he said in his statement. “We still believe in that, and we still believe that every human being is equal. This individual’s hate-filled crusade is not representative of any one political party, and it will not be tolerated.”

Packard went onto to call Murdough’s beliefs dangerous and urged others to speak out against all forms of hate speech that promote racism, homophobia, antisemitism and transphobia.

Murdough ran for state rep in Grafton County in 2010, facing scorn then from Republican leaders.

 

About this Author

Andrew Sylvia

Assistant EditorManchester Ink Link

Born and raised in the Granite State, Andrew Sylvia has written approximately 10,000 pieces over his career for outlets across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. On top of that, he's a licensed notary and licensed to sell property, casualty and life insurance, he's been a USSF trained youth soccer and futsal referee for the past six years and he can name over 60 national flags in under 60 seconds according to that flag game app he has on his phone, which makes sense because he also has a bachelor's degree in geography (like Michael Jordan). He can also type over 100 words a minute on a good day.