A New Hampshire court ruled Wednesday that a woman violated the state’s Civil Rights Act when she used a racial slur and threatened a 9-year-old Black boy who accidentally broke her son’s toy, according to a statement from the New Hampshire attorney general’s office.
According to court documents, reported by the Associated Press, Kristina Graper, 51, threatened to kneel on the boy’s neck who was playing with her son at the neighborhood park on May 10.
Graper’s son allegedly pushed the boy resulting in him “breaking a foam missile or foam bullet” that belonged to Graper’s son.
Graper’s son ran home to tell her about the incident and she accompanied him back to the park to find the boy and threatened to “kneel on his neck.” When a witness told her that her comments and behavior were unnecessary she allegedly shouted at the witness, referred to the child using a racial slur and left.
Graper later denied saying she would kneel on the boy’s neck when speaking to police in June. She claims she said words to the effect of, “you wonder why you guys get (expletive) kneeled on.”
Court documents say the child was traumatized by the incident and has been scared to return to the park since he is aware that the comments were in reference to George Floyd who died in 2020 after a police officer kneeled on his neck.
On Wednesday, the Strafford County Superior Court concluded that Graper’s conduct “was motivated by the victim’s race and had the purpose to terrorize or coerce the victim,” according to a release form the state attorney general office. “The court reached this conclusion after the defendant defaulted by not filing a response to the Attorney General’s complaint.”
Graper is no longer allowed to come within 250 feet of the child or the child’s family and was fined $500. If she violates the restraining order, she could face a larger fine of up to $2,500 and potential jail time.
