A former Democratic New Hampshire state representative, who identifies as transgender, was arrested Thursday for child pornography charges.
Stacie Laughton, a Democrat previously known as "Barry," was arrested this week in Nashua, N.H., on four felony counts of distribution of child sexual abuse images. It's at least the fourth arrest for the Democrat, who was jailed in 2022 for stalking a woman, which prompted Laughton's resignation from the legislature.
Details are not fully released, but John Cinelli, spokesman for the Nashua Police Department, said the arrest followed a Tuesday call about at "a local facility for a juvenile matter," Patch reported.
"They spoke with reporting parties that indicated Laughton distributed sexually explicit images of children," Cinelli said. "Detectives from the special investigations division were assigned to further the investigation. They applied for and were granted a warrant for Laughton’s arrest."
Laughton was originally charged with one count but three more were added after the arrest.
The Democrat gained national attention in 2020, becoming the first transgender lawmaker in a state legislature.
The 2022 arrest involved Laughton making false 911 calls about the woman he was stalking, as well as harassing her online and on a radio show Laughton hosts.
Laughton has also faced charges of credit card fraud and falsely reporting a bomb threat.
Laughton is not the first LGBT Democrat to face criminal charges. Sam Brinton, a "genderfluid" criminal who once served as President Joe Biden's top nuclear waste disposal expert, was arrested last month as a "fugitive from justice." Briton has faced charges for several airport luggage robberies.