GOP governor cancels outdoor inauguration amid armed threats to his family for mask order

On Thursday, Newsweek reported that Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) is canceling his own inauguration ceremony, citing increasingly ugly protests against him — including by armed individuals.

"Following other protests outside the governor's house, the Newfields selectorboard, which includes the governor's brother Michael Sununu, issued an ordinance on December 22, forbidding picketing in the town's residential areas with violators facing a $100 fine, NBC Boston reported," wrote Brendan Cole. "But on Monday, a group called 'Absolute Defiance' held a picket outside Sununu's house, spurring the governor to decide his inauguration on January 7 would be safer if it were held virtually."

"Sununu told reporters that 'an armed individual was arrested in [his] backyard [with] over two dozen rounds of ammunition' and that as governor he was worried about the safety of his family and citizens of the state," continued the report. "'Therefore it was prudent to cancel that event,' he added, WMUR 9 reported."

The New Hampshire GOP, which made upset gains at the state level this year, has been divided over Sununu after the mask mandate went into effect, with a small faction of state representatives threatening to impeach him. The mandate was put in place after a surge of COVID-19 that affected multiple nursing homes, and lasts until January 15.