Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Manchester Police Department
A New Hampshire state senator has been arrested after allegedly slapping and spitting on a man in a bar, police say. Keith Murphy, 47, a Republican lawmaker who was elected in 2022, was arrested on two counts of simple assault and one of criminal threatening. Police say Murphy threatened and spat on a man during an argument at Murphy’s Taproom, a bar he operates in Manchester, NH. A police spokesperson said security footage also showed Murphy “pick up a chair in an aggressive manner.” “I am innocent of these charges and I look forward to my day in court,” Murphy wrote in a statement on Facebook. “When the facts are known it will be clear that the police have charged the victim in this case.” Prior to his election as a state senator, Murphy was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. He was elected to the State Senate after Rep. Michael Yakubovich dropped out due to illness.
