NORTH BERWICK, Maine — A conservative activist who filed a federal civil rights lawsuit this week accusing the City of Augusta and a police sergeant of unlawfully detaining him at an anti-Trump protest says he was kicked out of an RSU 60 school committee meeting Thursday night, as the York County district remains under intense scrutiny following a viral dispute over transgender-related policies and alleged online backlash.
Nicholas Blanchard, who identifies himself in court filings as a political activist and Trump supporter, posted on X about the RSU 60 meeting, writing that officials “folded” after he “called their bluff,” while describing what he said happened at the meeting. Another widely shared post describing video from the meeting said the board chair attempted to remove him from the room.
The confrontation comes as Maine School Administrative District 60, also known as RSU 60, faces a surge of attention after a December board discussion about harassment policies and transgender students ricocheted through national social media.
Lawsuit: ‘No Kings’ protest detention tied to Trump support
Blanchard’s lawsuit dated Jan. 8, 2026, names Sgt. Desmond Nutter and the City of Augusta and seeks a jury trial, damages, and court declarations that his rights were violated.
According to the complaint, Blanchard attended an Oct. 18, 2025, protest on Augusta’s Memorial Bridge, described in the filing as a “No Kings” demonstration against “the policies of President Donald Trump,” wearing a stylized American flag outfit in opposition.
The filing says he carried a Byrna launcher, which resembles a pistol but is described in the complaint as “not a firearm,” using carbon dioxide to fire nonlethal projectiles.
The complaint alleges officers approached and searched him after mistakenly believing he had a firearm, then seized the Byrna and detained him for “terrorizing.”
Blanchard’s complaint further alleges he never made any threat and was never charged, and claims police lacked probable cause and did not have a warrant.
In one of the filing’s more pointed allegations, Blanchard claims he was arrested not because of criminal conduct, but because, the complaint alleges, Nutter wanted to “get him off the bridge before this crowd turns on him,” arguing the detention was driven by viewpoint concerns because Blanchard’s views differed from the protest’s participants.
RSU 60 controversy: Pronouns, bathrooms, and a viral clip
The school committee dustup happened against the backdrop of a broader RSU 60 storm that has been building since a Dec. 18, 2025, board meeting, when members approved updates to multiple policies related to student discrimination and harassment, and the board openly debated how those policies apply to transgender students.
A board member asked during the Dec. 18 meeting whether repeated “misgendering,” using the wrong name or pronouns for a transgender student, could result in discipline under the district’s harassment policy, and other members responded that repeated or intentional misgendering could fit bullying definitions.
The exchange went viral, promoted by the very popular “Libs of TikTok” account and by U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who called the moment “concerning.”
RSU 60 leaders then moved to increase security. Superintendent Audra Beauvais wrote in a Jan. 3 community letter that the district had become aware of social media posts and comments, both local and broader, that some found “unsettling and concerning,” and said the district would increase police presence in and around schools beginning Monday, Jan. 5, the first day back from winter break.
Spectrum News reported North Berwick Police provided extra officers at Noble High School and North Berwick Elementary School at the superintendent’s request, and that Police Chief Stephen Peasley said there had been no threats reported to schools in the district.
A meeting room clash in a district already on edge
In that climate, Blanchard being removed from Thursday’s school committee meeting quickly gained traction online, circulating alongside video snippets and commentary about the district’s handling of public participation and the ongoing argument over gender-identity policies.
RSU 60, which serves Berwick, North Berwick, and Lebanon, has found itself pulled into a wider national political fight, where a local school policy discussion can be turned into a national flashpoint within hours.
For Blanchard, the school meeting clash comes as he presses forward with a lawsuit alleging his arrest and detention in Augusta was unconstitutional and rooted in his political speech and expressive clothing.
The complaint asks the court to declare that defendants violated his First Amendment rights and unlawfully seized him, along with awarding damages and attorneys’ fees.
Whether RSU 60 officials respond publicly to the removal claim and whether the district’s heightened tensions carry into future meetings remains to be seen. But the broader reality is already clear: RSU 60 is now operating under an unusually bright spotlight, with policy debates, security decisions, and meeting-room confrontations playing out in real time before a national audience.
