LEGISLATOR WHO ENDORSED KILLING OF POLICE RESIGNS UNDER FIRE

BOSTON, Jan. 10 - Tom Alciere, a newly elected member of the New Hampshire
House who had gained notoriety for saying he supported - even loved - the
killing of police officers, resigned this afternoon in the face of mounting
public outrage.

The pressure on Mr. Alciere to quit had been building in recent days as
local, and then national, news organizations publicized his views, which he
had expressed in hundreds of Internet postings like "Nobody will ever be
safe until the last cop is dead."

Mr. Alciere, a 41-year-old inspector of electronic circuit boards, had not
expressed his more extreme views during his election campaign last fall in
the southern New Hampshire city of Nashua. But in an interview published
late last month by The Valley News of Lebanon, N.H., he said he loved it
when someone killed a police officer. He added that in the war on drugs, "I
view cops as enemy officers."

Mr. Alciere (pronounced al-see- AIR), who ran as a Republican but has said
he is really a Libertarian, supports the legalization of all drugs, the end
of mandatory school attendance and the repeal of the minimum drinking age.
He has said he supports killing police officers both because of the
frequency of police abuses and because he believes the laws they enforce
are often unjust.

Mr. Alciere was not available for comment tonight; the telephone went
unanswered both at his home and at his Statehouse office. But relief seemed
to reign in the House, and in New Hampshire government more broadly.

"In his campaign for the House, Tom Alciere misled the voters about his
extremist opinions," Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, a third-term Democrat, said in a
statement tonight. "In New Hampshire, we respect and honor our citizens who
serve in uniform. With Tom Alciere's resignation, the people of his
district will now have the opportunity to elect a representative who shares
their views."

Using his own name and hometown, Mr. Alciere posted hundreds of anti-police
messages on the Internet in recent years. In one, he wrote: "There is
nothing wrong with slaughtering a cop. Just throw the carcass into the
Dumpster with the rest of the garbage. Cops are nothing but vicious brutal
thugs anyway."

Mr. Alciere has said he posted outrageous statements only to get people
riled up. He has denied misleading voters about his views on police
officers, saying nobody asked.

It is unclear exactly what persuaded Mr. Alciere to resign, though he was
seen in prolonged negotiations today with a House Republican colleague,
Gary C. Greenberg of Manchester, who told reporters he might sponsor some
of Mr. Alciere's bills, dealing with drug legalization and other issues.
But the resignation was unconditional, and a special election will be held
in Nashua to replace him.

The letter of resignation, delivered to the secretary of state and the
speaker of the House, said simply, "This is to inform you that I am
resigning my seat as state representative from Hillsborough County District
29, Ward 4, effective at 11:59 p.m. on this day."