A Republican lawmaker in New Hampshire was arrested on Friday for allegedly yelling and cursing at a snowplow truck operator who videotaped the incident and later reported him to police.
According to police, Rep. Jeffrey Greeson, 51, of Wentworth, was charged with disorderly conduct, criminal threatening, and simple assault.
On personal recognizance, he was released and ordered to appear in Plymouth District Court on May 18.
The arrest was made after police received a report that a member of the Wentworth Highway Department had been obstructed in his snow removal efforts by a citizen who had recorded part of the encounter on his cell phone.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
Greeson’s Statehouse office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday.
Paul Manson, the road agent in Wentworth, said he had been plowing for about six hours when he came across Greeson standing in the middle of the road around 8 a.m. Saturday.
“He just started giving me hell, and I didn’t know what was going on,” he said Thursday. “When I got out of the truck, he started screaming in my face. So I got back in the truck and got my phone.”
Greeson can be seen clambering over a pile of snow up to his knees along the road in the video, which Manson posted on Facebook.
The storm dropped nearly a foot of snow before winding down later in the day.
“Here’s where my driveway ends, right here. Push it out of the road!” shouted Greeson, who also used a rude hand gesture and expletives. “Your job is to clear the road. Clear the road! Now, get in your truck and do your job!”
Greeson, a retired Navy officer and pastor who is serving his second term in Congress, did not respond to an email seeking comment on Thursday.
“He was upset because I wasn’t pushing the snow off the road far enough, and I was putting it all in his driveway, which I’m going to be honest with you, that’s what I do,” Manson said. “My job is to get the snow off the road. And I feel bad most of the time because I do put snow back in people’s driveway, and I really can’t help it.”
Manson said he realizes it’s no fun to shovel out after a snowplow passes.
But he said public servants don’t deserve to be attacked.
“I get to go home when I’m done with my 15-, 16-, 18-hour shifts and do the same thing,” Manson said.
