| WOBURN — A show-cause hearing involving high-dollar Democratic Party donor under investigation for trespassing at Massachusetts Republican Party headquarters before threatening to “return with a weapon” has resulted in a single charge of disorderly conduct, a Woburn District Court clerk magistrate ruled Thursday.
Thursday’s hearing involving Nahant attorney Hugh Samson, a longtime major donor to Democrat candidates and causes, was covered by the Boston Herald:
The acting clerk magistrate of Woburn District Court found enough evidence today to move forward with the charge at a probable cause hearing this morning. He did not find enough evidence to move forward with a charge of threatening to commit a crime, however.
“I think that’s outrageous. I feel threatened,” said Wendy Wakeman, of North Andover, a staffer at the GOP headquarters who interacted with Samson that day, after the hearing. “I don’t think anyone uses the word ‘weapon’ unless they’re thinking of using it.”
Massachusetts Republican Party Chairman Jim Lyons, who observed the proceedings in court, thanked the district attorney’s office and the Woburn Police Department for their “continued pursuit of Mr. Samson’s criminal behavior.”
“Particularly noteworthy for me was the fact Mr. Samson’s attorney in his closing arguments tried to blame the MassGOP for his client’s bizarre and threatening behavior that day,” Lyons said.
The incident occurred on Feb. 9 when Samson, donned in a pink mask, walked into MassGOP headquarters unannounced and barged into a conference room where staffers were meeting. Multiple eyewitness reports claim Samson identified himself by name before pulling out his phone to take staffers’ photos and later accusing them of being “fascists.” Additionally, Samson told staffers he planned on reporting them to law enforcement for not wearing COVID-19 masks.
Once staff were able to reach police by phone, Samson exited the office, but not before shouting, “what if I came back with a weapon?”
An employee of another business across the hall witnessed the exchange. From her office window overlooking the parking lot, the employee was able to spot Samson driving away from the building in a black Toyota Prius.
Meanwhile, after the intruder identified himself as “Hugh Samson,” MassGOP staff was able to positively identify the man after a cursory internet search yielded news photos of him protesting in November 2020: |
