NORTHFIELD – State Rep. Jason Gerhard, R-Northfield, a convicted felon who is also a candidate for Merrimack County Sheriff, claims his campaign signs are being stolen.
In a Sept. 2 letter to Merrimack County Sheriff David Croft and County Attorney Paul Halvorsen he said on Aug. 26 he sent a letter to state Department of Transportation Commissioner William Cass after a number of his campaign signs were stolen. Halvorsen couldn’t be reached Tuesday for comment.
Gerhard has a Republican primary race next Tuesday running against Frank T. Cassidy of Epsom. The position is now held by Croft, a Democrat from Canterbury who is running unopposed in the primary Sept. 10.
In 2007 Gerhard helped Plainfield residents Ed and Elaine Brown resist U.S. Marshals in a standoff at their home after they refused to pay federal income taxes.
Gerhard was accused and ultimately convicted of supplying thousands of rounds of ammunition and weaponry during the standoff and served more than 12-years in prison.
Once he served his time he decided to go into politics and since his election to the state House in 2022 Gerhard sponsored legislation to allow ex-felons to have their gun rights restored and sponsored a bill for New Hampshire to secede from the United States, which did not pass.
Now, he is focused on running for Sheriff of Merrimack County.
He said he purchased and placed political signs of his candidacy and has maintained them along state roadways but they have disappeared.
“These signs were not on interstate ramps or any other area where legitimate safety concerns could exist. Furthermore, I weed whacked around my signs to improve their visibility and make it easier for DOT staff to navigate if they were to mow. Commissioner Cass has not found the time to respond so I am reaching out to you.”
He asked Cass to identity the DOT employee who is responsible for political signage within Merrimack County; the training curriculum that employee successfully underwent to ensure understanding of both the Constitutional Rights afforded to The People and the limitations placed upon himself; photographic evidence of non-compliant signage prior to removal; and notice within 48-Hours as to the location of his property.
Gerhard said he also wanted information as to the total number of signs confiscated and the political party affiliation of each candidate.
“These don’t seem to be outlandish requests. Political speech is protected under the First Amendment and state actors do not have the authority to steal my property under specious safety concerns. The DOT has not outlined where their self-created “free speech zones” are in any publicly available map that I am aware of. My concern, as stated in my previous letter to Commissioner Cass, is that we have political operatives, acting under the color of law, trampling upon our rights and using safety as their cover story.
“It is my desire, Sheriff Croft and County Attorney Halvorsen, that you will use your position to protect our rights and allow free and fair elections to prosper in New Hampshire. I would very much appreciate your support on rectifying this wrong and figuring out who is behind this theft and determining where these “free speech zones” are along with who created them.
Gerhard is not seeking re-election to his seat in the House but is a current state representative through the end of the year for both Franklin and Northfield.
“I had no idea this was happening until throwing my hat into the ring for Sheriff and taking on a countywide race. It is truly disheartening and worrying that bureaucrats are determining who the public is allowed to see and who remains in the shadows. The deep state must be reined in or our Republic will be lost,” he wrote.
