'Incredibly Frightening': Activist Leaves Dirty Needles Outside Gov. Baker's Home
SWAMPSCOTT (CBS) – Massachusetts First Lady Lauren Baker testified Monday about an incident involving protesters who left needles outside her family's Swampscott home.
"I'm afraid of being physically hurt in one way or another," Lauren Baker said in the court hearing Monday.
Baker said she felt threatened when the group of protesters stood outside their home earlier this month and placed used needles on the sidewalk.
"That's incredibly frightening to me," Baker said. "Are they trying to make me come outside and step on the needles or interact with the needles? I'm afraid of that."
Boston activist Domingos DaRosa, who was issued a stay away order, says he brought the dirty needles to the governor's home to bring attention to the growing drug problem in Boston.
"We want to make sure that the community that surrounds this area gets the right services to deal with the issues that are going on within Methadone Mile," DaRosa said.
A judge Monday upheld the stay away order for DaRosa, saying the right to protest does not include leaving behind needles on people's property.
"They are trying to get their message across to the governor, and they're not getting, they're not hearing from him and so they think by calling me out by name and getting to me, they might be able to intimidate me into getting him to take some sort of action," Lauren Baker testified.
"Well I'm never proud of having someone feel uncomfortable, but for me as a person that I am, and what I do, bring awareness to something, yeah I will continue to bringing awareness to something that affects the masses," DaRosa said.
Earlier this month, protesters marched in Swampscott outside the governor's home against the state's eviction moratorium.
In a separate incident, a Danvers man was arrested for allegedly breaking into the home and leaving behind a letter addressed to Gov. Charlie Baker along with documents and photos.
Lauren Baker testified she was concerned the protesters would return with more needles. "I'm afraid because I don't know what they're going to do," Baker said.
DaRosa has been ordered to stay away from the home for at least a year.
