House Speaker Bans Newmarket Rep. From House Chamber On Non-Session Days; She Calls It Unfair

By Nancy West, InDepth NH

CONCORD, NH — State Rep. Ellen Read, D-Newmarket, said she is considering her legal options after House Speaker Sherman Packard banned her on non-session days from the House chamber, ante-room and gallery at the State House because of her "shouting" and using profanity Tuesday outside a Senate committee hearing on her bill to provide sexual assault victims their rights.

Read, a sexual assault survivor, said she didn't attend the hearing on House Bill 1633 in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and asked someone else to introduce it while she listened in the hallway outside State House Room 100.

"It was obvious the chairman had no idea what the bill was about," Read said.

Frustrated, Read said she yelled something to the effect of "Oh my God, I can't believe these people. The chairman is a fucking moron."

"I was losing my mind in the hallway," Read said. "There was no confrontation, no conflict. I was shouting at the heavens as a sexual assault survivor watching survivor rights get steamrolled yet again."

Packard, R-Londonderry, told Read in a letter Friday: "Details suggest that you were speaking excessively loud and/or yelling in a manner that caused alarm to legislators, staff, and members of the public in the area. Details also suggest that you used profanity in a loud manner, including comments such as, '… the Chairman is a f______ moron.'

"This is contrary to one or more internal policies, including, but not limited to the State House Public Conduct Policy, which states that, 'Loud or unusual noise or profanity...' is prohibited in our facilities," Packard said, adding he is considering further discipline.

Read said the sergeant-at-arms came out of the hearing and asked her to quiet down, but said there was only one other person in the hallway some distance away.

"There is nothing in Mason's Manual to deny a (House) member entry," she said, adding visitors can get access to those now forbidden areas. "Everyone has access to those rooms except me," Read said.

Read said she believes the Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence lobbied the Senate Judiciary Committee against her bill. It's part of ongoing friction between her and the coalition because of their lack of support and because she also submitted legislation calling for an audit of the coalition in a separate bill, which was tabled, she said.

Coalition spokeswoman Alyssa Dandrea said: “The Coalition supports expanding rights and ensuring every victim is notified of them, but this bill does far more than that. We have consistently stood with medical professionals and prosecutors in raising serious concerns about HB1633. As written, the bill risks unintended consequences by narrowing who qualifies as a victim in sexual assault cases, and by rewriting the forensic evidence collection process in ways that would put New Hampshire out of step with nationally accepted best practices.”

Read said the House is now dealing with Rep. Travis Corcoran, R-Weare, for his social media comments. After Rep. Jessica Grill, D-Manchester, promoted a bipartisan Karaoke Caucus meeting on X, Corcoran posted on X, “We need a final solution for theater kids in politics,” referring to the Nazi’s plan to kill all the Jews in Germany.

Even Corcoran hasn't been banned, Read said.

"I'm the only Representative who has been banned," Read said.

Read said a published report also said she was banned from Senate offices but she hasn't heard anything from the Senate.

Read said she has since met with Senate Judiciary Chairman Bill Gannon, R-Sandown, who now understands the bill, that it wasn't about allowing rape victims to take the rape kit home, but rather providing simple information to victims about their legal rights.

She said House members have been arrested for violent crimes, embezzling and other serious infractions who weren't banned. She said Packard got caught on a hot mic in 2021 calling a female House member a "bitch." Packard later apologized.

Packard didn't respond to a request seeking his comment on the matter, and hasn't responded to InDepthNH.org about removing Rep. Wendy Thomas, D-Merrimack, from the House Science, Technology and Energy Committee because of her “attitude,” and for asking to be referred to as Rep. Wendy Thomas during committee proceedings to avoid confusion with another member with the same last name.

In his letter to Read on Friday, Packard said on Tuesday, General Court Protective Services reported that they received several complaints about her behavior in the hallway outside State House Room 100, where the Senate Judiciary Committee was holding its meeting.

"It was further noted that the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms had to leave their post to go into the hallway and ask you to calm your behavior as it was rising to the level of disruption to the government proceeding inside the room. Please be advised that RSA 644:2 (b) clearly identifies, 'Disrupting the orderly conduct of business in any public or governmental facility,' as a crime."

Packard said the next day Read told a General Court employee to “… tell the Senate to go f___ themselves. Whether or not you believe the statement was taken in jest, I believe it was improper of you to engage employees in this type of conversation, or subject them to profanity."

He said he understands Read is a passionate advocate, but said this type of behavior was unacceptable.

"While I continue to examine the situation, I can’t in good conscience let the above referenced incidents go unaddressed. Pursuant to my authority in the General Court Public Conduct Policy, RSA 14:14-b, and Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure Sec. 575 (m), you are no longer permitted to use the anteroom, Representatives Hall, or the House Gallery on non-session days. You may enter the anteroom only to retrieve material from your mailbox. General Court Protective Services has been given authority to enforce this directive," Packard wrote.

Packard said he may reconsider further discipline if Read apologizes.

"However, I may reconsider further action if you are able to produce a written apology to the Senate for the incident on Tuesday, April 7^th, and to the employees for the incident on April 8,^" Packard wrote.

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.