Concord man John P. Grace has been exonerated of all charges filed in the aftermath of a 2022 alleged threat against schools Superintendent Laurie Hunter.
Grace was initially charged with a bomb/hijacking threat, which is a felony. That charge was later reduced to threat to commit a crime, a misdemeanor. After opting for a jury trial, Grace was found not guilty on May 14, 2024.
Grace had been in touch with Hunter’s office prior to the incident, wanting to discuss repeated automatic messages from the school’s Aspen system, which notified him about his frequently tardy son. He said she had not responded, prompting him to call on December 12, 2022. He left a message alleged to say, “You know, I could drive down there and put two into somebody.”
The message was not recorded, and Grace has said several times that allegation is inaccurate.
“What really resonated with the jury is that this is a parent and a taxpayer who was trying to get in touch with the person in charge of his son’s education, and that person wouldn’t give him the time of day because they thought that Mr. Grace wasn’t worth it,” said Grace’s attorney, Matthew W. Peterson. “Our officials should talk with us and hear our concerns. I mean, it’s in the Constitution, right? It’s the right to redress grievances.”
Hunter declined to comment on the verdict.
— Christine M. Quirk
This story has been updated for the web.
