WASHINGTON — The primary challenge against longtime Rep. Richard Neal in western Massachusetts is drawing wider notice as progressive candidates notch wins around the country, but police records obtained by The Post show challenger Jeromie Whalen has had several past encounters with law enforcement.
Whalen, a 39-year-old high school journalism teacher, was arrested in multiple incidents, including an alleged drunken assault in a hospital emergency room and a separate episode in which he was accused of nearly driving his pickup truck into a house around 4 a.m. while under the influence.
“I’m not going to say that I haven’t made mistakes in my life, but I’ve learned from mistakes that I had in my younger years,” Whalen told The Post ahead of the Sept. 1 primary election, adding that the incidents made him realize it was “time to shape up. It’s time to grow up.”
Whalen acknowledged having “several … run-ins with the law,” attributing them to “newfound independence and alcohol” during his college years. He also criticized the release of the records and claimed Neal was “s–t-scared” of losing the Democratic primary after 18 terms in Congress.
“What you’ve been given is probably illegal,” Whalen told The Post. “It’s been so long, [the records] have been sealed, and so you were given illegal documents. And that’s going to be something that’s really important moving forward.”
A source who provided the records argued that Whalen’s acknowledged history “raise[s] significant questions about Whalen’s conduct, judgment and temperament.”
In 2006, while college-aged, Whalen was arrested in Osceola County, Fla., on a misdemeanor battery charge after allegedly drunkenly assaulting a security guard while resisting nurses’ efforts to insert an IV.
A mug shot from the arrest shows Whalen smiling at the police station.
The candidate told The Post there were “two sides” to the story, and that he was just “refusing services.”
“They said, ‘If you go try to get by me and leave the hospital right now, we’re going to take you to jail,’” he claimed, of the case that prosecutors did not pursue.
In 2009, Whalen was arrested for a noise violation at a house party in Amherst, Mass., this time without a smile in his mugshot.
Officers were met with “uncooperative and rude” backtalk about needing a warrant to enter the premises as guests were spotted playing beer pong, according to a police report.
Whalen received a $100 noise citation.
“The police wanted to come into the house, [but] I did not want them to come into the house,” Whalen told The Post. “When I actually had to appear in court, the judge was just like, ‘You know, keep it down,’ and sent me on my way.”
A year later, Whalen, then 23, crashed his Mazda pickup truck into the bushes 10 feet from an Amherst home at 4:07 a.m., police files indicate.
A diagram included in the incident report showed how the vehicle swerved off a road, narrowly missing a telephone pole and breaking its front axle as it careened toward the house.
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Whalen initially declined to say whether he was drunk or under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash, saying in a Friday interview, “I can’t remember all of the things that happened.”
In a subsequent Facebook post on Saturday night, however, he confirmed he was busted for driving under the influence, for which he lost his driver’s license and was required to take classes.
“After those instances, I said, ‘You know, it’s time to shape up. It’s time to grow up,’” he told The Post.
“How do you make up for your mistakes? … You improve yourself and you improve the lives around you. And I think that if you actually look at my track record from that age of 23 to 39, I’ve done a lot of good in the community.”
Whalen is locked in an increasingly nasty fight with Neal, 77, and the two will square off in a local TV debate this coming Wednesday.
The challenger says he doesn’t label himself as a socialist and has had registered Republicans switching parties to support him.
His core issues include pushing single-payer “Medicare for All,” hiking taxes on high-income earners, adopting a $15 federal minimum wage and ending military aid to Israel.
But he told The Post he also wants to improve veterans care, restrict Flock camera license-plate scanners due to privacy concerns and reduce “outrageous congressional spending” to curb the national debt — saying, “I’m very much in favor of working together to get the job done.”
Seven House Democrats lost primaries to challengers this year and insiders believe the zeitgeist favors candidates like Whalen, who has been the subject of increasing national attention — including recent profiles in NOTUS and Politico.
The teacher was endorsed Thursday by Our Revolution, the group formed to continue the mission of socialist Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign.
“You can’t fight for lower utility rates when you’re taking money from Eversource. You can’t advocate for affordable housing when Blackstone, the world’s largest landlord, is one of your biggest donors. You can’t fight for actual health of individuals with lower drug prescriptions when you have money rolling in from Pfizer,” Whalen told The Post.
“The congressman waited too long. He didn’t take any of our challenge seriously.”
Neal has represented western Massachusetts since 1989 and has built a reputation as a centrist institutionalist in policy and style.
Neal has preferred a more gradual approach to health insurance reform and stuck out visually as the least-dutiful House Democrat wearing COVID-19 masks during the pandemic — often spotted with one around his neck as colleagues scolded Republicans for flouting federal health guidance.
The face-off follows a string of left-wing triumphs in congressional races.
Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), John Larson (D-Conn.), Al Green (D-Texas), Julie Johnson (D-Texas) and Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) are among the incumbents to lose primaries this year — most to openly progressive or self-described socialist challengers.
In a shock to national Democrats, the more centrist Trump impeachment witness Alex Vindman lost the Florida Senate primary Tuesday to Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed state Rep. Angie Nixon, who won by more than 12 points despite possessing far less campaign cash.
Neal’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
