For years, Samson Racioppi has been actively involved in divisive public demonstrations.
In 2019, he a 鈥渟traight pride鈥� parade in Boston that drew throngs of counter-protesters. He鈥檚 also a longtime member of a group that helped organize busloads of protesters to the Jan. 6, 2021 rally in Washington, D.C, which Racioppi himself attended.
More recently, Racioppi graduated from New England Law and passed the bar exam, but his efforts to get a law license 鈥� first in Massachusetts, and more recently in New Hampshire 鈥� have met opposition.
Because of the confidential nature of the way lawyers seeking to practice are evaluated and licensed by the states, it is hard to know why. His supporters, though, claim Racioppi is the victim of a political litmus test due to his right-wing activism.
鈥淗e passed the bar. That's not easy. Went to law school, just worked his ass off,鈥� said John Hugo, a founding member of Super Happy Fun America, a conservative group that serves as a , of which Racioppi is also a member. 鈥淣ow they won't let him be a lawyer because of who he is. It's viewpoint discrimination. It's really just terrible.鈥�
As part of the application process to the New Hampshire Judicial Branch, lawyers must prove they are of 鈥済ood moral character.鈥� The state鈥檚 Supreme Court gives final approval to all applicants.
Last year, Hugo spoke on Racioppi鈥檚 behalf during a closed-door hearing before New Hampshire鈥檚 Character and Fitness Committee, a nine-person group that issues recommendations for or against applicants seeking a law license in the state.
Hugo said the committee members asked repeated questions about Racioppi鈥檚 involvement with Super Happy Fun America, which describes itself on its website as a 鈥渞ight of center civil rights organization focusing on defending the Constitution, opposing gender madness and defeating cultural Marxism.鈥� The group and its leaders have been at the center of several controversial public demonstrations, including organizing the in Boston.
Racioppi declined to answer questions for this story, citing his ongoing application process. His supporters recently took to social media, however, to criticize the state鈥檚 review committee 鈥� which includes judges, lawyers, and New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella 鈥� for recommending against his admission to the bar.
New Hampshire鈥檚 Office of Bar Admissions declined to comment on Racioppi鈥檚 application, citing confidentiality rules.
According to , the right to practice law in New Hampshire 鈥渋s a privilege granted only to those who demonstrate good moral character and fitness.鈥� Applicants can be denied a law license if they fail to display a range of positive attributes, including acts that 鈥渆xhibit disregard for the rights or welfare of others.鈥�
Along with disclosing any outstanding debts and motor vehicle infractions, applicants are also required to reveal any previous criminal arrests.
For Racioppi, that means disclosing a 2014 arrest in Maine, where he was charged with two counts of reckless conduct for an incident involving a firearm. After serving 72 days in jail awaiting trial, Racioppi was released and eventually pled guilty to a single misdemeanor charge, according to media reports.
Racioppi, who is 43 years old, declined NHPR鈥檚 request to disclose additional details about the incident. Court records from Maine were not immediately available.
It isn鈥檛 clear what information the committee used to reach its conclusion on Racioppi鈥檚 application, including whether his criminal history or activism were factors.
Past political activism聽
Racioppi grew up in Newburyport, Mass., before moving to Salisbury, Mass., where he recently held a position on the local housing board. After serving in the military, including overseas deployments, he attended college in his mid-30s.
In 2018, he briefly sought the Libertarian Party鈥檚 nomination for Congress before ending his candidacy.
In 2019, he helped organize a straight pride parade in downtown Boston, which he told a reporter was 鈥渘ot anti-LGBT. This is anti-identity politics.鈥� The march drew large crowds of counter-protesters, who derided the organizers as bigots and Nazis.
Super Happy Fun America, which often engages in public protests to advance their political causes, also organized a convoy of buses to attend the Jan. 6, 2021 protest in support of President Trump. Several demonstrators from New England who travelled with the group that day were arrested for illegally entering the U.S. Capitol. Racioppi attended the rally, according to Hugo, but was outside of the perimeter and was not charged with any crimes.
On the group鈥檚 website, they lay out a 10-point plan to save America that includes: 鈥淢ake normalcy normal again. Judeo-Christian values are under siege. It is time to right the ship.鈥� The group is also critical of the media, large tech corporations, and the United Nations.
During the pandemic, when Racioppi was attending New England Law in Boston, the school sought to impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on students. Racioppi and some colleagues approached William Gens, a veteran lawyer in Massachusetts, for assistance in opposing the mandate. Gens would eventually hire Racioppi as a paralegal in his office, where he continues to work while he pursues his law license.
Gens, who NSC-131, a hate group accused by the state Attorney General鈥檚 office of trespassing in New Hampshire while hanging a white pride banner, also testified on Racioppi鈥檚 behalf during hearings before the Character and Fitness Committee late last year.
He described the committee鈥檚 failure to recommend Racioppi as 鈥減ositively anti-American. It goes against the fundamental principles of a democracy, of a meritocracy.鈥�
Gens said he was asked by committee members about Racioppi鈥檚 previous criminal arrest in Maine.
鈥淭hey asked me what I thought about that,鈥� said Gens. 鈥淚 said, that's ancient.鈥�
A confidential process聽
Racioppi鈥檚 application for a license to practice law will now head to the New Hampshire Supreme Court for a final determination. It isn鈥檛 clear when the court may take up the issue, or if it will schedule an oral hearing on the matter.
It also isn鈥檛 clear how many lawyer applicants in New Hampshire have been denied admittance over concerns about their character and fitness. When asked for any recent examples of court opinions in which an applicant was rejected, the Office of Bar Admissions provided citations for three cases dating from 1997, 2005, and 2011.
The New Hampshire Bar Association, an independent nonprofit group for admitted members of the bar in the state, said that it plays no role in the approval or discipline of attorneys, and that there are 鈥渃learly articulated standards鈥� that all prospective bar members must meet.
鈥淭he New Hampshire Bar Association supports the Court鈥檚 critical role in the admission and regulation of the legal profession and will not comment on decisions regarding admissions,鈥� the group said in a statement.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, a free speech advocacy group, said that First Amendment protections prevent states from rejecting applicants based on their political views. 鈥淐ourts have established that lawyers may not be denied a license to practice law due to their political party, affiliation, or beliefs,鈥� the group said in an email to NHPR.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, where Racioppi previously submitted a petition to practice law in 2022, before he moved to Nashua, told NHPR that he withdrew his nomination before the state鈥檚 high court issued any final rulings on his application.
According to Gens, some of Racioppi鈥檚 fellow students from New England Law submitted letters opposing his membership to the bar in Massachusetts.
鈥淗e decided that he was going to abandon the process in Massachusetts because he was getting dogpiled,鈥� said Gens. 鈥淎nd he thought that he would have a better shot in New Hampshire. After all, the state motto is 鈥楲ive Free or Die.鈥欌��
