The attorney general of Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit accusing a white nationalist group of civil rights violations. He says she has repeatedly subjugated LGBTQ+ events and facilities that protect migrant families from harassment and intimidation.
By means ofMICHAEL CASEY Associated Press
December 8, 2023, 1:14 PM
FILE – Andrea Campbell, attorney general of Massachusetts, answers a question during an interview at the State Attorneys General Association meetings, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, in Boston. Campbell filed a lawsuit on Thursday, December 7, accusing a white nationalist group of civil rights violations. He says she has repeatedly subjected LGBTQ+ events and facilities that house migrant families to harassment and intimidation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
The Associated Press
BOSTON — The attorney general of Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit accusing a white nationalist group of civil rights violations. He says she has repeatedly subjected LGBTQ+ events and facilities that house migrant families to harassment and intimidation.
The complaint filed Thursday against NSC-131 and two of its leaders, Christopher Hood of Newburyport and Liam McNeil of Waltham, accuses the group of engaging in “violent, threatening and intimidating conduct that violated the state's civil rights laws and unlawfully disrupted public safety. .”
“NSC-131 has been engaged in a concerted campaign to attack and terrorize people across Massachusetts and violate their rights. Our complaint is the first step in holding this neo-Nazi group and its leaders accountable for their unlawful actions against members of our community,” Attorney General Andrea Campbell said in a statement.
According to the complaint, the group repeatedly targeted drag story hours in the state between July 2022 and January 2023, attempting to shut down the events and assault members of the public. The group also targeted migrant shelters between October 2022 and October 2023, prosecutors allege.
The Associated Press could not reach Hood or McNeil for comment on the lawsuit or to determine whether either has an attorney. A number for Hood was disconnected and a number for McNeil could not be found. The group did not immediately respond to messages sent via Gab and Telegram.
The Anti-Defamation League describes NSC-131 as a New England-based neo-Nazi group, founded in 2019, that “embraces racism, anti-Semitism and bigotry” and whose “membership is a collection of neo-Nazis and racist skinheads, many of whom have prior membership in other white supremacist groups.”
Earlier this year, a New Hampshire judge dismissed complaints of violations against the group. Prosecutors there said the group displayed “Keep New England White” banners from an overpass in July without a permit.
In March 2022, about a dozen masked members of NSC-131 attended South Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade as spectators, holding up a banner that read “Keep Boston Irish.” Parade organizers and Mayor Michelle Wu denounced the group's actions.