Former Patriots Player Running For Senate: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Monday, July 12. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• Two men who police said were caught in the act of "tagging" public property with potentially white supremacist, racist and antisemitic graffiti were charged with vandalism, could face more charges.
• Police shot an Everett man was after he charged officers with what was described as a "sword-type weapon."
• Health officials on Cape Cod are monitoring reports of "breakthrough" coronavirus cases in Provincetown.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

A former New England Patriots third round draft pick is running for Congress.

Jake Bequette, who played eight games over two seasons with the Pats, is running against incumbent Arkansas Sen. John Boozman in the Republican primary. In his announcement Monday, Bequette described himself as a "God-fearing Christian conservative who is 100 percent pro-life and pro-police."

The Patriots selected Bequette in the third round in the 2012 NFL Draft. He played on the team in 2012 and 2013, and was on the team's practice squad when it won the Super Bowl in 2014. After the Patriots released him before the 2015 season, Bequette joined the Army and served in Iraq.

Read the full story.

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Monday's Other Top Stories

Police pepper spray council candidate in bar brawl: In order to get an unruly bar patron under control, Lowell Police had to pepper spray and tase him before he could be subdued and arrested: the unruly bar patron in question was a man running for Lowell City Councilor. Jeffrey Thomas, 45, was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after the brawl at the Blue Shamrock in Lowell.

Diners drive staff to tears: A Cape Cod restaurant closed for breakfast Thursday morning after customers berated staff to the point some employees cried. In a statement, Apt Cape Cod said it has struggled with staff shortages and high customer demand since coronavirus restrictions were lifted. Restaurant management said many of the Apt Cape Cod's customers continued treating staff with kindness and understanding, but others haven't been as patient.

Police shoot suspect in Everett: An Everett man was shot by police after he charged officers with a sword-type weapon, the Middlesex District Attorney's office said. Officers responded to an apartment building on Buckman Street for a report of a resident who had barricaded himself inside, authorities said. The resident, identified as a 45-year-old man, ran at them while holding "what was described as a sword," the district attorney's office said.

More white supremacist vandalism on North shore: Two men who police said were caught in the act of "tagging" public property with potentially white supremacist, racist and antisemitic graffiti were charged with vandalism, could face more charges, according to police. Salem police have been investigating a rash of racist spray-painted phrases in recent months from members of a group they identified as the "Patriot Front" — which the Anti-Defamation League classifies as white supremacist, racist and antisemitic.

Cockatoo apprehended: It wasn't a cat stuck in a tree, but a bird on the loose in the backyard that drew out Danvers fire crews on Sunday. Danvers fire Local 2038 said crews responded to the unusual call of a Cockatoo that had escaped someone's house and flown to a tree in their backyard.

Eat fresh: Patch's 2021 Massachusetts Farmers Market Guide

They Said It

"We never expected COVID to completely vanish. We have to do our best to manage it. Vaccinations, better treatment and more research since last year have put us in a better position to do just that."

• Provincetown Town Manager Alex Morse. Health officials on Cape Cod are monitoring reports of "breakthrough" coronavirus cases in Provincetown.