Coeymans has always been fertile ground for a bumper crop of bullies but the so-called “Friends of Coeymans,” popularly known by many Coeymans residents as “Fiends of Coeymans,” is a real special brand of domestic terrorist, the George McHugh campaign’s answer to Nazi Germany’s roaming fascist bands of thugs.
Thanks to a number of tips received from a number of Coeymans residents, who appear to be concerned about a new bully group in the Town of Coeymans — as if Coeymans didn’t have enough bullies as it is —, a local group calling themselves “Friends of Coeymans. ” The group’s bully tactics and brutish conduct in public meetings has earned them the dubious epithet of “Fiends of Coeymans.” So, in response to residents’ requests to investigate and to publish our findings, we’d like to respond in this initial post, pending our more in-depth investigations.
First of all, we note that these so-called “Friends of Coeymans” are a very small group consisting of three local clowns — for now let’s just be kind and call them the “Coeymans Clowns” —, with all the charm of a John Wayne Gacy clown, are closely associated with the McHugh campaign for Town Supervisor.[1] We’ll get to McHugh in a very revealing and troubling report on his past and present activities.
The Fiends of Coeymans appear to have an agenda of disrupt, disorder, and confuse the issues of the elections, the candidates, and to create general confusion and conflict in the Coeymans community. Far from being anything you could possibly define as a friend, these Coeymans Clowns are destructive and damaging. Of course, being on Facebook, they have collected a gaggle of Facebook freaks, addicts who spend their waking hours scrolling through illiterate comments posted by their fake friends.
If a group wants to be acknowledged as “friends” of any community, they should first state their goal as being for the public good and acting in the interests of the public, not a partisan political campaign. These Coeymans Clowns are interested in nothing but their Neanderthal sadistic pleasure, something that appears to be their perverse notion of masculinity or good citizenship. Maybe in Stalin’s Russia or Hitler’s Germany, but not here in the United States.
Unfortunately, some of the more ignorant and misguided souls (read: Mary Driscoll and her ilk) seem to have adopted this contemporary re-casting of the Three Stooges — and we believe they are actually stooges, stooges of George McHugh and his keepers [2]
Of course, the Fiends of Coeymans have a Facebook page, the Clowns practice their own brand of censorship, propaganda, and abuse on that page, which has also been a problem, say residents.

Creatures from the Shadows: Fiends of Coeymans.
[From left to right, Jeff LaQuire, Nate Boomer and Chris Hagen.]
The three clowns behind the Friends of Coeymans, and the operators of the Facebook Friends of Fascism page, have been identified as Jeff LaQuire (is that really pronounced “la queer”?), Nate Boomer (Boomer?!? Is he booming Jeff?) and Chris Hagen. It may be worth knowing that one of the Clowns, Chris Hagen, is the brother of controversial Travis Hagen, the individual involved in the tragic death of 19-year old Riley Kern last year. It seems the Hagens have a tendency to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. As we mentioned above, the Clowns are associated with the McHugh campaign, and are garnering support from the News Herald, George McHugh’s pet.
The Coeymans Clowns are a very good example of the worst in abuse of free speech. They are using not only the local opportunities for signage to mislead Coeymans residents — the Clowns can’t possibly afford to rent the billboard space they have on 9W, so our question is: Who is paying for it? Marc Vinciguerra of the Ravena News Herald? George McHugh? Carver Laraway? — they’re all in bed together — and they have the willing ear of McHugh’s pet newspaper, the Ravena News Herald, the local media whore. What’s worse is that they have a Facebook page that most social media addicts can find with no problem, and, if they say what the Fiends of Coeymans, rather, the Clowns of Coeymans want to hear, and if it supports their special interest agenda, it gets posted for all to read. But if you question any of the propaganda or disagree, look forward to being banned, and then after being banned and deprived of the opportunity to respond, they’ll proceed to trash you. Friends of Coeymans, Clowns of Coeymans, at their democratic best.

Lequire, Boomer, and Hagen are three very scary clowns!
Here’s the hypocrisy of the whole Fiends of Coeymans Facebook scam: They invite free and open discussion and even tout freedom of speech but, as in most dictatorships and fascist regimes, your freedom of speech goes only as far as the narrow limits of what the Clowns want to hear, and what they want their “friends” to see. In my book and by my definition, that’s called censorship and propaganda. It has no place in a free and democratic society.
But when the thugs get some computer skills, that’s the place where things go. Fascist thugs and computer skills are a toxic mix.
Problem is, there are so many gullible, ignorant, even downright stupid residents in Coeymans, who are such pitifully lonely creatures, they’ll do anything to get a friend. Hell, they’ll swallow anything — and I mean anything — if you’ll just say Hi! to them. So it’s that bunch that are really attracted to the Clowns’ group. The burning question is: Are you one of them?
If anyone has seen the movies about dictatorships like Nazi Germany or any place where fear ruled, you always have the scene where the thugs enter a public meeting, a gathering, or even a church service and intimidate or brutalize those present to the extent that no one goes to the public meeting because they’re afraid of meeting up with the thugs. Well, that’s exactly what we’re seeing now in Coeymans: the Clowns, the Fiends of Coeymans, are appearing at town government meetings ranging from regular town board meetings to planning board meetings and making unpleasant and embarrassing scenes. Just like in Fascist Germany. Their main purpose: to embarrass our elected officials and to intimidate citizens. Some of their Facebook freak friends actually congratulate them on “the good work they’re doing in the community.” Pure insanity! You can’t make this stuff up!
This sort of bullyism has to stop. Only YOU can stop it. Some of Coeymans misguided residents are urging these freaks on; others are encouraging them by giving them attention on Facebook; others are supporting them indirectly by staying away from important democratic institutions like town board meetings, planning board meetings, and public gatherings. Why? Because fascist thugs work that way: they work with lies, threats, bullyism, and intimidation.
Next time you express support for our military and our servicemen, just remember one thing: Our fathers and grandfathers fought against Fascism. Their sons and our brothers and sisters fought against totalitarianism in Korea and Vietnam. Our brothers and sisters fought terrorism in the Middle East. How can Coeymans residents support those sacrifices and still support a group like the Fiends of Coeymans, who are creating their own special brand of domestic terrorism?
Open your eyes! Open your ears! Open your mouths! Say NO! to the fascist thugs in your own front yard! You owe it to him or her who made the ultimate sacrifice so you can talk freely, assemble without intimidation, and exercise your free right to vote!!!
Editor’s Note: Mr George McHugh has recently published some misleading statements relating to his military service, if you can call National Guard service “military” and a cushy office job in the Staff Judge Advocate’s office (That’s where all the attorney’s hang out, far from any bullets or landmines!). We think he has no clue about what it is to be a real soldier. We’ve invited him to be interviewed to clarify those and other questions about his past but he has so far ignored two of our follow-ups. A third one will go out this week and, if he doesn’t have the guts to interview and answer the questions, we’ll publish the facts that we have. No one can say we didn’t give him the chance to clear the air.
[1] John Wayne Gacy was an American serial killer who raped, tortured and murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men between 1972 and 1978 in Cook County, Illinois. All of Gacy’s known murders were committed inside his Norwood Park ranch house.
[2] The dictionary definition of “stooge” is “a person who serves merely to support or assist others, particularly in doing unpleasant work; perform a role that involves being the butt of a comedian’s jokes; move around aimlessly; drift or cruise.” Aptly applies to the Coeymans Clowns in all aspects.