Terese Grinnell (now Bastarache) speaks to a crowd outside Concord District Court, where she was arraigned on a disorderly conduct charge on Nov. 19, 2021.
Terese Grinnell (now Bastarache) speaks to a crowd outside Concord District Court, where she was arraigned on a disorderly conduct charge on Nov. 19, 2021.
Gov. Chris Sununu has been subpoenaed to testify in next week’s Concord District Court trial of a vaccine-mandate opponent charged with disrupting a contentious Executive Council meeting in 2021.
Terese Bastarache, the defendant in the case, issued the subpoena for Sununu, who was in charge of the Oct. 13, 2021 meeting, at which nine protesters were arrested. Bastarache, who went by the last name of Grinnell at the time of the arrest, said her lawyer wants to question Sununu under oath, because the charging documents say he directed her arrest.
“It’s almost like the state troopers said, ‘We were directly told to do this,’” said Bastarache, a registered nurse who rose to the forefront of the anti-vaccine mandate movement following the rise of COVID-19 in 2020.
A spokesman for the governor said Thursday that Sununu had not received a subpoena in the case. “As the Head of State in New Hampshire, however, it is not uncommon for the Governor to receive subpoenas, so this would be nothing out of the ordinary,” spokesman Ben Vihstadt said in an email.
Bastarche said video of the meeting shows Sununu nodding to troopers and texting on his phone. She wants to ask the Republican governor what the crowd did that prompted him to order the troopers to make arrests.
The 2021 meeting drew dozens of opponents of a $27 million, federally funded expansion of COVID-19 vaccinations throughout the state. It followed a meeting two weeks earlier that vocal opposition forced Sununu to cancel.
Bastarache said she encouraged people to be respectful and never shouted or behaved distruptively. She faces two charges of disorderly conduct: for uttering “Amen” at one point and saying, “I’ve been arrested,” as she was led out of the Concord auditorium where the meeting was held.
“There is zero evidence in any of the discovery that I ever even said the word (Amen),” Bastarache said. She said the closest connection is a statement from a trooper who said he heard the word coming from Bastarache’s direction and said he recognized her voice from Facebook.
The nine people who were arrested have dubbed themselves “the Noble 9.” They are being tried separately.
Manchester resident Frank Staples was the first to be tried, Bastarache said. He faced four charges. Three were dropped, and he was found guilty of disorderly conduct, Bastarache said.
Most other defendants, including Bastarache, are being represented by William Gens, a Boston lawyer. Bastarache said some of the legal fees have paid by donations.
Bastarache’s trial is scheduled for Tuesday. She said she is a supporter of former President Donald Trump, who is expected to campaign that morning about two miles away, at the Grappone Convention Center.
