Richard Marple

Arthur Richard Marple (March 4, 1931 – December 13, 2019), commonly known as Richard Marple or simply Dick Marple, was an American politician from the town of Hooksett, New Hampshire, who served six terms in the New Hampshire House of Representatives as a member of the Republican Party.

Richard Marple
Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from the Merrimack 24 district
In office December 13, 2014 – December 13, 2019
Preceded by	Todd Smith
Succeeded by	Kathleen Martins
Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
In office 2002–2006
In office 1999–2000
Personal details
Born	Arthur Richard Marple (1931-03-04)March 4, 1931
Died	December 13, 2019(2019-12-13) (aged 88)
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Louise Wheeler Marple
Residence(s)	Hooksett, New Hampshire, U.S.
Education	Dover High School
Occupation	Politician
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy

Early life and education

Marple was born on March 4, 1931. He attended Dover High School and served four years in the United States Navy.^[1][2]

Career

Marple served as a Republican member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1999 to 2000, from 2002 to 2006, and from 2014 until his death in 2019. During his time in office, Marple served on the State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs Committee.^[3][4] Marple ran for office on eleven occasions, winning six times.^[5]

Following his death in office, Marple was succeeded by Democrat Kathleen Martins following her victory in a special election held on March 10, 2020.^[6]

Sovereign citizen legislation

During his tenure in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, Marple repeatedly introduced legislation recognizing and seeking to enforce various pseudolegal arguments of the sovereign citizen movement. In 2015, Marple introduced a bill that would allow New Hampshire residents to declare themselves sovereign citizens, with a second bill forcing the "immediate removal from office with no appeal" of any official found to have violated what Marple described as New Hampshire's state sovereignty. Neither bill passed.

In 2016, Marple introduced an unsuccessful bill that would declare New Hampshire landowners the absolute rulers of their property and exempt them from taxes, with attempts to collect property taxes or enforce the law on said property being considered treason. Christopher Cantwell, a white supremacist and Unite the Right rally participant, testified in favor of this bill at a New Hampshire House committee meeting, stating: "I love that I live in a state where a guy like Dick Marple can get elected."

In 2017, Marple sponsored a bill that would recognize sovereign citizens as a legitimate legal class and impose a $10,000 fine on any "corporation" that does not fully explain the nature of a "contract" to a sovereign citizen. The bill had three co-sponsors,^[7] one of whom was a member of the Free State Project.^[8]

Political positions

In 2019, Marple sponsored a bill that would ban the addition of fluoride to municipal water supplies.^[9]

Marple received a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice New Hampshire in 2005, as well as a 100% rating from the National Federation of Independent Business between 2019 and 2020.^[10]

Legal issues

On May 20, 2016, during his fourth term as a state representative, Marple was arrested on a bench arrest warrant for a misdemeanor charge of driving with an invalid driver's license. He was released on a $4,000 personal recognizance bail.^[11]

On November 8, 2016, Election Day, Marple was arrested outside a polling place while campaign for re-election. A passing police officer recognized Marple as having an outstanding arrest warrant due to his failure to appear in court the previous month for driving with a suspended license in December 2014. Marple was re-elected to a fifth term in the House on the same day as his arrest.^[12]

In 2017, when Marple returned to court to defend himself on a charge of driving with a suspended license, he engaged in a long rant against the judge, claiming that she had no jurisdiction in his case because she had not filled out his "affidavit of truth", that she had been convicted of violations by a common law court, and that he was not required to have a license. After Marple refused to participate in his trial and referred to the proceedings as a "fraud", the judge left the courtroom.

Marple was later found guilty of the charge against him and ordered to pay $310 in fines,^[7] to be suspended in the event that he had no vehicle infractions within the next six months.^[8]

Personal life and death

Marple married his wife of 61 years, Louise Wheeler Marple of Hooksett, while serving as a New Hampshire state trooper. They had a son and daughter.

Marple was devoted to Shriner charities and was a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Marple died at the age of 88 on December 13, 2019.^[1][2][13]