Harassment Order Dismissed: A Firsthand Look Inside the Courtroom
Written by: William Rowe – Methuen resident
I’m nobody special, a concerned resident. I am not an attorney; I am just concerned about the people who wish to represent the town I have lived in for the past 30 years. I am astonished at what is going on in the City of Methuen right now with some of the elected officials, specifically the alleged DUI issue with a City Councilor, and the alleged dispute between Kristen Maxwell and Laurie Keegan, who are both on the Methuen School Committee, which ended in Maxwell filing a harassment order against Keegan. That is a serious accusation to make against a school committee member, especially when it reaches the point where a court issues an ex parte decision in favor of issuing the order.
This is a serious accusation for someone to make, especially against an elected official, and I believe we need to hold our elected officials to a higher standard. I was curious about this, so I went to the Lawrence District Court on Friday the 13Th and I was in the courtroom to witness the hearing myself, in person.
I have seen the riffraff circulating on Facebook and have read the article in the Tribune by Teddy Tauscher, and an article written by Tom Duggan from the Valley Patriot on February 13, 2026. I have also read the sworn affidavit submitted to the court by Maxwell, and the Defendants Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Plaintiffs Complaint for Protection from Harassment, submitted by Keegans Attorney
I will share with you what I observed during the hearing: listening to Ms. Maxwell testify, listening to the Judge speak, listening to the Methuen Police Chief testify, hearing from Ms. Keegan’s attorney, and Ms. Keegan herself. In addition to the Affidavit and the Reply Memorandum in opposition from Keegans attorney.
Seems there is some kind of ongoing personal conflict between the 2 parties in philosophies and politics, and I do not think Mr. Tom Duggan's article in the Valley Patriot paints a very fair picture of what really transpired between Keegan and Maxwell on the evening of the incident, that prompted Maxwell to file this ex parte order. Or the ongoing tension between them for what seems to be comments on Facebook from a family wishing to relocate to Methuen and Maxwell allegedly advised the family to “look elsewhere” while serving as a member of the school committee.
Maxwell was apparently upset with Keegan who, as vice chair in her duties, read 9 letters in the public forum criticizing Maxwell for writing those comments to the family wishing to relocate, including, but not limited to a letter written by 42 teachers and staff criticizing Maxwell from the Donald P. Timony school. Instead of taking responsibility for her poor choices, it seems she is blaming Keegan for reading the letters and shaming her in public.
With regard to the Temporary Harassment Order, apparently, Keegan was not there to defend herself the day the original judge issued the ex parte order and could only rely on the sworn affidavit from Maxwell. I think if Keegan were actually there to defend herself on that day, this dispute would not have risen to the level of a Temporary Harassment order being issued in the first place. So, I question Maxwell's motive for going to such extremes in the first place.
In Maxwell's affidavit, she claimed in part, that Keegan confronted her in a hostile manner and called her names, threw her City-issued laptop on the floor, and sat next to her. It made her feel humiliated and intimidated and she was distracted during the meeting. Maxwell also claimed Keegan posted disparaging and harassing statements, filed a false police report against her, and verbally attacked her a city council meeting, and now suffers from emotional distress. Apparently, this was all the judge needed to hear, to file the Temporary Harassment order against Keegan.
In Mr. Duggan's article, he claims Laurie Keegan “Bullied and Threatened her” (Maxwell) and “even threw her laptop on the floor” and that for the court to extend the harassment order, Maxwell would have needed at least 3 instances of harassment by Keegan. Duggan goes on and writes, “but the Judge ruled she had 2 legitimate instances from the 5 instances she submitted” [on the affidavit].
My personal information and belief is that Ms. Keegan did not admit, “she had thrown the laptop on the ground.” She admitted to pushing the laptop out of her way and it fell off of the desk, and in my opinion, that is a fundamentally different perspective from what Duggan wants you to perceive happened. There was no damage to the laptop, and when the Methuen Police Chief testified, he said none of the actions he witnessed rose to a level of Police involvement.
In Mr. Duggan's article, he claims Maxwell took out the Temporary Harassment order “…after Keegan bullied and threatened her…” In fact, Maxwell testified under oath that Keegan NEVER threatened her, and this question came up several times. Maxwell affirmed Keegan never threatened her and never touched her.
I do not believe for one second the judge affirmed Maxwell had two legitimate instances of harassment. I struggle to conclude that there was even one incident of harassment by Keegan after personally attending the hearing. I think Mr. Duggan's account of the events is not entirely accurate or fair, just my opinion. Order the transcripts. Understand the law, and then go back and read her affidavit. It does not seem possible that affidavit would rise to the level of harassment.
There was also a discussion between the Judge and the Methuen Chief of Police about a video of the event. The Chief testified that he had watched the video and still did not believe that any part
of this event rose to the level of police involvement. In my opinion, I hardly think any of this is harassing, and from what I understand, Keegan apologized after the meeting. Certainly, a lapse in judgment in a brief moment of frustration, but if this happened to anyone else, I hardly believe they would be marching into court to file a harassment protection order.
The Chief also testified he heard a commotion in the hallway, after a city council meeting, Maxwell was yelling, but did not believe Keegan was involved in that, and he did not see Keegan block Maxwell from leaving the meeting, as Maxwell testified. I do not believe Duggan’s perception of this is true or accurate after listening to the Police Chief testify. In fact, after the Chief testified, the Judge decided the order would be dismissed, without even needing to watch the video himself. He had considered watching it, but changed course and abruptly made his decision to deny the order after the Chief's testimony.
Maxwell testified she had cameras around her home and does not go out due to fear, and does not feel safe, and seemed to be crying and visibly emotional during the hearing, which she attended Pro Se` - unrepresented by any legal counsel. While I am saddened and concerned to hear this is how Maxwell feels, it does not seem to stem from this incident with Keegan alone, and I do not think it is a product of anything Keegan did to her, since it seems she has felt this way for years, apparently. Maxwell testified that Keegan did not touch her and made no threats against her.
One of the articles mentioned the school board not censuring or holding Keegan accountable for her behavior. After listening to the judge speak of protected political speech and reading the well written reply memorandum, I do not think that any of this would rise to a level of discipline, certainly a lapse in judgment, for which Keegan apologized by the end of the meeting. But I would agree with the Committee for the stance they took, or did not take here.
I am not for or against either one of these Committee Members, but I think for Maxwell to file the Harassment Order, against Keegan, ex parte, only to have it dismissed while BOTH parties were present and able to share their sides of the story was just an assault on Keegan’s character to make the situation look worse than it really was, and a little revenge for shaming her for HER lapse in judgement in sharing her point of view to the people wishing to relocate to Methuen, while an active member of the committee. The Judge and Keegan's attorney both spoke of free speech and political speech, and in my opinion, it’s a lot of that (Read the reply memorandum). If Maxwell is in fear, doesn’t feel safe, she probably should not be in politics; she probably should not be on the school committee either, based on her testimony. Her highest level of education is a GED. No disrespect, but this hardly qualifies someone to handle the day-to-day business of a school system with a multi-million dollar budget and the difficult decisions and contracts it faces on a daily basis. It’s a tough position in my opinion, and one must be able to accept both praise and criticism for their opinions and efforts. They must also be fairly educated to be in the position
as well. And that goes for all the elected positions, including the City Council as well. We need to ask the members what their background and education is, and are they suitable to read and understand the complex issues and contracts presented.
As I said, I was in the courtroom, and I am not for or against either party. I don’t think the reports about Keegan were entirely authentic or accurate. I hope Maxwell can move on from this peacefully, take responsibility for her actions as well, and I hope this sheds some light on what really happened in the courtroom, and what was actually said and done by Ms. Keegan, and what I believe the underlying issues to be. If I believed Keegan was responsible for what Duggan had reported, I would have affirmed his report. What he wrote is not fair, it's not accurate, and it's not truthful, in my opinion, at best a lapse in judgement, but free political speech is not harassment.
William Rowe