ATHOL — On Saturday, May 16, 2026, at approximately 11:22 a.m., Athol Police Officer Elizabeth Unaitis was dispatched to the Uptown Common on Main Street following a report of a physical altercation that had just taken place.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Elizabeth Unaitis and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
Officers Josh Barriere and Sergeant Craig Deveneau were also dispatched to the scene.
“While en route, dispatch advised that the male party involved had left the area,” Officer Unaitis said. “The male party was described as a bald male with a grey hoodie and light-colored jeans.”
Officer Unaitis said that, upon arriving in the area, she and the other responding officers were flagged down by several people in the roadway who pointed toward Grove Street.
The individuals in the roadway told police that a male party was over in the woods being pinned down by someone.
Officer Unaitis said that she and Officer Barriere then exited the cruiser and followed the individuals who had flagged them down into the wooded area they had initially gestured toward.
“Officers observed two male parties, one matching the description provided by dispatch, in the yard of 41 Auburn Place,” Officer Unaitis said.
After the officers separated the parties, Officer Unaitis spoke with the man seated on the ground, who was breathing heavily and matched the description of the suspect.
“The male party was later identified by his New Hampshire driver’s license as Michael Moriarty,” Officer Unaitis said.
According to police, Michael J. Moriarty, 55, is a resident of Gilford, New Hampshire.
Officer Unaitis said she asked Moriarty what happened, but he was too out of breath from running to speak yet.
“Mr. Moriarty did eventually speak with Officer Barriere and said he was walking from the direction of CVS,” Officer Unaitis said. “There was a group of people protesting politics on the Uptown Common, and Mr. Moriarty walked through them and said they tried to engage him in a discussion about politics. He said they were the aggressors and he tried to disengage from them but it turned into a ‘shoving match.’ He said he took off running across the street because he thought he was being chased and that the people were going to hurt him, but ran out of breath through the woods and was confronted by a bystander until police arrived.”
Officer Barriere offered Moriarty medical attention, but he declined.
Officer Unaitis said Sergeant Deveneau spoke with several witnesses, including a man and a woman who were identified as victims.
“It was reported that [the male and female victims] were at the common participating in a political protest,” Officer Unaitis said. “They said Mr. Moriarty came up to the group, pulled up his shirt around his face like a mask, then grabbed onto [the female victim] in a ‘bear hug’ and ‘threw’ her to the ground. [The female victim] was holding a sign at the time and the sign sustained damage during the scuffle.”
The male victim then tried to help the female victim, but Moriarty allegedly pushed him, which caused him to fall on top of the female victim, Officer Unaitis recounted.
“[The male victim] also had a sign that got ripped in half from the incident,” Officer Unaitis said. “[The female victim] reported she fell into a metal signpost before going to the ground, and she sustained a scraped right elbow.”
Officer Unaitis added that the male victim said he was not injured and both the male and female victims declined medical attention.
“[A female witness] and [male witness] saw the incident, and Mr. Moriarty took off running from the scene heading west on Main Street,” Officer Unaitis said.
Officer Unaitis said the male witness chased Moriarty onto Grove Street and through a wooded area before catching up to him and grabbing hold of him in the yard of 41 Auburn Place, where the witness became winded.
“This is when officers arrived on scene,” Officer Unaitis said. Adding, “Mr. Moriarty was detained without handcuffs in the rear of Sergeant Deveneau’s cruiser to allow officers to finish conducting the investigation.”
Officer Unaitis said she and Officer Barriere again spoke with the male and female victims, who repeated the accounts they had given Sergeant Deveneau and alleged that Moriarty appeared to target the group by approaching them directly with an “evil look” on his face.
“Both [the female victim] and [the male victim] were determined to be over the age of 60,” Officer Unaitis said. “Based on the age of the victims as well as the damage to their personal property, the decision was made to arrest Mr. Moriarty. Officer Barriere removed Mr. Moriarty from the cruiser and placed him in handcuffs (double locked), searched Mr. Moriarty incident to arrest, and placed him back in the rear of Sergeant Deveneau’s cruiser (seat belt secured). Mr. Moriarty was transported to the station where he was read his Miranda rights by Officer Barriere. Mr. Moriarty declined to discuss the incident further, and was booked without incident.”
Michael J. Moriarty, 55, of Gilford, New Hampshire, was charged with the following:
- Assault & Battery on 60+/Disabled (two counts)
- Vandalize Property (two counts)
Moriarty’s bail was set at personal recognizance.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in May, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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