NH House Minority Leader Dick Hinch
Today we learned that a NH State Representative was arrested 2 months ago for assaulting his pregnant partner. We learned that today, 2 months after the fact. Robert Forsythe is running for re-election. He's been charged with one felony count of second-degree assault and two misdemeanor counts of domestic violence.
The article in today's Concord Monitor also has photos of Robert Forsythe, campaigning at the dump, while wearing a sidearm. Guns are important to him - but we'll get to that later.
The Monitor spoke with NH House Minority Leader Dick Hinch about this incident, because Rep. Forsythe is a Republican:
House Republican Leader Dick Hinch condemned the alleged behavior but stopped short of calling on Forsythe to resign from office.
“Domestic violence and assault are unacceptable and wrong and have no place in our society,” Hinch said. “Rep. Fosythe is the only person who can put pen to paper, and sign a resignation letter. The people of Boscawen have the right to ask him to resign if they believe he can no longer represent them. They also have the ability to vote for alternative candidates, including write-ins, if they believe they no longer want Rep. Forsythe to represent them in Concord. "
Hinch was singing an entirely different song back in 2018, when State Senator Jeff Woodburn was charged with 9 counts of assault against his former partner. WMUR
After WMUR's initial report appeared, New Hampshire House Majority Leader Richard Hinch, R-Merrimack, criticized Shurtleff. His statement said:
“There is no middle ground on accusations of domestic abuse. These are very serious and substantiated charges against Sen. Woodburn. Given the nature of the charges and the legal proceedings requiring his full attention, it’s clear that Sen. Woodburn is not fit for public office. The constituents of his district deserve better.
“Now, we have the leader of the Democratic caucus saying that somehow that we should all give him a free pass until after the election. I’m shocked that Rep. Shurtleff and other Democrat leaders are standing with and enabling an accused abuser and not with the victim in this situation. This is not the time to straddle the fence and shows poor leadership by the minority leader.”
The Minority Leader would appear to have become one of those "fence straddlers with poor judgement" he once denounced.
This isn't Robert Forsythe's first rodeo. In April 2019 he was arrested for violating a protective order. Tony Schinella for Patch.
It's not his second rodeo, either. In 2014 he was arrested on gun charges. Concord Monitor
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