Prosecutors seek defendant’s phone PIN in ‘scarecrow’ case
John Grace and his lawyer are questioning why the state seized the phone in the first place and won a temporary reprieve.
Prosecutors want Acton resident John Grace to divulge his iPhone passcode after his arrest in connection with a set of “scarecrows” installed around town criticizing schools Superintendent Laurie Hunter.
Grace and his lawyer are questioning why the state seized the phone in the first place and won a temporary reprieve last week.
“The phone has nothing to do with the signs,” attorney George King told the court.
Hunter secured a harassment prevention order against Grace last April after several incidents involving her, Grace, and the public schools while his son was a student. Officials previously barred Grace from setting foot on school property.
Prosecutors charged Grace with threatening to commit a crime in 2022, but a jury acquitted him.
Officials allege Grace violated the harassment prevention order by placing displays this past fall. Signs included the stenciled phrase “fire liar Hunter.” One said, in part, “Muskets for Musk? The hatchet for Hunter!”
Police arrested Grace on November 25 and charged him with violating a harassment prevention order.
Hunter feared a violent incident, according to court documents.
She thanked police after they arrested Grace but has declined to comment further on the case. The public and regional school committees “stand firmly” with her, officials said in an unsigned November statement.
King has said these were calls for her firing and that public officials should expect some degree of criticism.
Grace has free speech rights, King said during his client’s latest district court appearance, and “these are not true threats.”
Investigators seized Grace’s phone when they searched his house on the day they took him into custody.
The state wouldn’t violate Grace’s constitutional protection against self-incrimination by requiring him to enter his PIN, the DA’s office argued in a January 15 motion.
Unspecified info sought
Assistant District Attorney Leon Rotenstein recapped the allegations during the January 22 hearing but didn’t specify what police are looking for in Grace’s phone.
King said he hadn’t seen the underlying search warrant.
Judge Lynn Brendemuehl didn’t rule on the motion and scheduled Grace’s next court date for February 11. Grace has pleaded not guilty.
While King previews a First Amendment defense, some experts who’ve dealt with harassment prevention orders told The Acton Bridge after Grace’s November arraignment that it’s far from ironclad.
“The standard is what the standard is,” lawyer Edwin Howard II said, adding that “someone’s need for protection from harassment or abuse doesn’t change” because they’re a public official.
Beyond the phone, the police search uncovered “numerous spray-painted signs consistent with” those found around town, prosecutors said. Officers seized those displays and “other items related to making the signs.”
The state’s new filing noted an October message to police and Acton-Carlisle School Committee Chair Tracey Marano in which an anonymous emailer claimed to be the person behind an initial display in Monument Square.
“Scared Crow was placed under cover of darkness out fear of retribution [sic.],” the email said. Bridge staff members were copied on the message, which was signed, “Silence Dogood.”
Grace said he hadn’t seen the DA’s office motion before walking into court for his January 22 appearance. He said he was “not that worried” about the push for his passcode.
Asked about the assertion that investigators found signs in his house, he said it “doesn’t surprise me.”
