Jun. 2—A bag of unused diapers arrived at the New London County State’s Attorney’s Office last month.
There was no message attached to the package, so staff did not initially know what to make of it. Dozens of judicial staff members, judges included, would later receive an email from Connecticut Port Authority critic Kevin Blacker of Noank to explain.
“I’ve been thinking about it. State vs. Kevin Blacker is the case. I’m being prosecuted by employees of the State before a judge who is an employee of the State. I’ve been encouraged to get a public defender. Paid by the State?,” the message starts.
“To accede implies a yielding, often under pressure. Those diapers I sent to the State’s Attorney’s Office meant to make clear I won’t,” the email reads.
Blacker, a 2022 Green Party congressional candidate, is gearing up for what would be a rare trial by jury in a misdemeanor vandalism case surrounding the painting over of state-owned signs leading to State Pier in New London in August 2020. The act, Blacker said, was to meant to protest the transformation of State Pier into an offshore wind hub.
As for the diapers, Blacker said “Some in the (State’s Attorney’s Office) are contumacious babies.”
“They want this to go away,” Blacker said of his court case. “I want a fight. I don’t want to make it easy for them. I want there to be a fight because there is a big issue here worth fighting for.”
Cases such as Blacker’s are often cleared from the court docket with a plea agreement that includes an agreement of restitution. Blacker, however, said he rejected the state’s offer to pay the $586 restitution in exchange for a “nolle prosequi” or nolle, out of principle. A nolle is a term used to indicate the state will not prosecute a charge but has an option to renew prosecution for 13 months.
Blacker is due back in court on July 8.
Blacker claims his case illustrates an abuse of power because major crime detectives showed up to interview him about what he considers a simple act of civil disobedience. He was also initially charged with a felony based on what turned out to be an inaccurate $1,663 estimate of the cost of repairs submitted by Port Authority Board Chairman David Kooris. The state Department of Transportation, which owns the signs, later submitted a $1,343 estimate for repairs before admitting to an error and revising the figure to $586.
State prosecutors dropped the first-degree criminal mischief charge and substituted it with one count of second-degree criminal mischief based on the new estimate for repairs.
The 2020 incident wasn’t the first or last interaction Blacker has had with police. It was the first of two arrests. He admitted painting pink stripes on the doors of the state Capitol in 2023 and quickly paid restitution to resolve that case. The pink paint is a nod the 2005 Supreme Court case Kelo v. New London over the use of eminent domain to seize homes in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood in New London, including the pink home owned by Susette Kelo.
At a 2019 Transportation Committee hearing related to the Connecticut Port Authority, Blacker was questioned by state police at the State Capitol about an email he sent to Gov. Ned Lamont with a subject line “Governor Lamont is a yellow-belly, my blood will be on his hands.”
In 2020, police walked him out of a Connecticut Port Authority meeting where he was protesting the signing of a Harbor Development Agreement that would later transform State Pier.
Blacker, who was representing himself in pre-trial hearings in his latest case, already has tried unsuccessfully to pitch a claim of “vindictive prosecution,” arguing he is being treated differently because he is an outspoken activist.
Blacker said he was given another opportunity to resolve the case short of a trial. He said when asked by Judge Jassette A. Henry what it would take, Blacker said he agreed to pay the restitution, but also wants an apology from the prosecutors and the Connecticut State Police Eastern District Major Crime Squad, “or whoever sent them.”
His email to court staff about the case elicited a response from Judge John M. Newson, administrative judge for the New London Judicial District and the presiding judge in all criminal matters.
Newson, in a May 10 email shared widely by Blacker, asks Blacker to refrain from communicating his grievances with court staff and judges.
“You have elected your right to trial to force the State to prove you committed the offense(s) charged ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ and, to the extent any of the political or other issues you claim are deemed relevant, you can seek the opportunity to enter that information into evidence when your trial begins. Offering these arguments in late-night emails to the entire New London County court staff, however, is neither appropriate nor can it have any impact on the prosecution of your case.” Newson wrote.
Blacker said he has obtained services of well-known Connecticut attorney Norm Pattis, but is not sure if he has the funds to pay for Pattis for the trial. A representative from the Norman A. Pattis Law Offices said Pattis is on trial and unable to comment at this time.
Blacker said he thinks the trial is an opportunity to gain attention to his causes and exercise free speech.
“People might think I’m crazy, but I’m exercising the rights I have. You can’t have government officials just calling in the state police on critics,” he said. “I exercise my freedom of speech and nobody can retaliate against me. They did.
“I’m using this trial (because) I think what happened at State Pier is rotten and sucked. It was illegal an unfair and I don’t want to just accept it,” Blacker said.
Assistant State’s Attorney David Smith, who oversees prosecutions at the Geographical Area 10 where the diapers were delivered and Blacker’s case is being heard, declined to comment on the case, but indicated the diapers would be donated to someone in need.
New London County State’s Attorney Paul Narducci likewise declined comment.
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