Report claims New Hampshire lawmaker advocated for segregated schools. Here’s what we know

On Jan. 14, 2026, the Granite Post, a New Hampshire news website, published an article claiming Republican New Hampshire State Rep. Kristin Noble, who identified herself on X as chair of the House Education Policy and Administration Committee, sent messages in a private Signal chat expressing support for segregated schools. The article was headlined “Leaked Signal chat shows NH House education chair advocating whites-only schools.”

The claim spread on social media, and Snopes readers searched our website looking for more information about Noble’s supposed messages. 

We reached out to Noble’s team to verify that the messages were authentic but did not receive a response by the time of publication. However, in an X post shared after the Granite Post article was published, Noble implied that the messages were legitimate but suggested she was referring to segregation based on political views rather than race. 

The Granite Post also published Noble’s purported messages, but the article offered no definitive proof she was referring to schools segregated by race or political beliefs. 

Because we could not independently confirm the messages’ authenticity or Noble’s intent, we’ve left this claim unrated. We will update this story if new information emerges.

The alleged messages

According to the Granite Post’s story, Republican state representatives sent the messages in a Signal chat named “EdPolicy2026.” The article claimed the messages were leaked by “a source familiar with the chat’s contents who wished to remain anonymous.” The Granite Post apparently reached out to that person, whom it described as “a fellow member of the education committee.” According to the article, that person “did not confirm they were the source of the leak, but also did not deny its authenticity.”

The messages were shared in a screen recording, which the Granite Post made public. Below, Snopes transcribed all the messages as they appeared in the video. We have bolded the message Noble purportedly sent in favor of school segregation and included notes in parentheses when messages included reactions. 

We also cross-referenced the names with Ballotpedia, a nonpartisan online encyclopedia of politics. All four users who reportedly sent messages in the chat had the same names as Republican members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives.

The full purported text exchange was as follows:

KATY PETERNEL: I’m sending him a message now

KRISTIN NOBLE: all extra requirements aren’t helpful right now. Stopping woke mind virus stuff is good.

PETERNEL: Are any of you supportive of the hunting bill?

NOBLE: i support it. it’s just not a priority.

MELISSA LITCHFIELD: No, not the way schools are run right now. I do not want to risk kids being taught that guns are bad. (This message received a thumbs-up reaction and a “100” reaction)

PETERNEL: If it wasn’t already allowed and Prospect Mountain wasn’t already teaching hunters safety, I might consider supporting it. Roy has his Eddie Eagle bill.

NOBLE: when we have segregated schools we can add all the fun stuff lol (this message received a laughing reaction, shown in the video to be from Peternel)

NOBLE: imagine the scores though if we had schools for them and some for us

MARGARET DRYE: I think the only bill I have in our committee is about the definition of part-time teachers. 

LITCHFIELD (responding to Drye’s message): It would be faster if we just ask Glenn how many bills I submitted! 

Noble’s response

In a Jan. 14 post on X, Noble shared a statement implying the texts were authentic and suggesting she was referring to schools segregated by political beliefs, along with a link to a campaign donation site:

It’s funny to watch the Democrats feign outrage when I thought they’d be supportive of managing their own schools, with libraries full of porn, biological males in girls sports and bathrooms, and as much DEl curriculum as their hearts desire. Schools like that will have terrible test scores because they focus on social justice rather than academics. 

Republicans have been self-segregating out of the leftist indoctrination centers for decades. If democrats had their own schools, and we had our own, families wouldn’t need to avail themselves of the wildly successful education freedom account program. It’s a win / win proposition.

Three days later, Noble shared another donation link on X, calling the Granite Post a “Democrat fake news blog” that was “desperately try to cling to the rubble of their collapsed narrative.” 

The news outlet does have documented connections to Democrats. The publication is affiliated with Courier Newsroom, according to the Boston Globe and its own website. Previous reporting from The New York Times and Axios showed Courier had received millions of dollars in funding from prominent Democratic donors. An article from Columbia Journalism Review described Courier as a “local ‘news’ network and progressive political campaign vehicle,” implying that reporting on its sites was not completely trustworthy.

Sources