New Hampshire Gov. Sununu cancels inauguration ceremony over protests

(The Center Square) – New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has canceled Thursday’s inauguration ceremony, citing the risk of “armed” demonstrations over the governor’s COVID-19 restrictions.

Sununu said he decided to move the inaugural event online amid concerns about “the safety of my family and our citizens” with protesters vowing to show up at the event when he is sworn into a third term.

“For weeks, armed protesters have increasingly become more aggressive, targeting my family, protesting outside my private residence, and trespassing on my property – an outdoor public ceremony simply brings too much risk,” the Republican said in a statement. “We do not make this decision lightly, but it is the right thing to do.”

Sununu will instead take the oath of office in a closed ceremony inside the State House in Concord on Thursday and deliver a speech at 7 p.m. that will be streamed live.

Sununu said he made the decision to make the event virtual after consulting with Attorney General Gordon MacDonald, Senate President Chuck Morse, R-Salem, and acting House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry.

The venue change comes after one protester was arrested and several others fined for trespassing at Sununu’s Newfields home. At least one protester was armed, police said.

Several protesters later told the New Hampshire Union Leader that the demonstrations were peaceful, and said they didn’t trespass on the governor’s property. The protesters told the newspaper they are upset over the state’s COVID-19 restrictions and a recent vote by the Newfields Town Select Board to ban picketing outside private homes.

The group Absolute Defiance argues that the state’s COVID-19 restrictions and the new ordinance violates their First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly.

They pointed out that Sununu’s brother, Michael, serves on the local board that approved the anti-picketing ordinance.

Sununu, 46, handily won a third-term in the Nov. 3 election, winning more than 65% of the vote. He has been lauded for his response to the coronavirus outbreak in the state, but has faced criticism from conservative groups that argue his actions to control the coronavirus have hurt businesses and individuals freedoms in a state that’s motto is “Live Free or Die.”

Like other states, New Hampshire has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases and infections that have prompted Sununu to tighten restrictions and set a statewide mask mandate.

The governor has already canceled inaugural balls that were scheduled to be held around the state following Thursday’s swearing in ceremony. Meanwhile, the State House remains closed to the public and the Legislature has held several meetings outdoors on the sprawling campus of the University of New Hampshire in Durham.

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