White supremacist propaganda activity increased throughout New England in 2022, with the largest uptick taking place in New Hampshire, according to a new assessment by the Anti-Defamation League.
The incidents included gatherings and actions taken by white supremacists expressing antisemitic, racist, anti-immigrant, and anti-LGBTQ messages at local sites across the region, according to ADL’s Center on Extremism. They delivered hateful messages through fliers, graffiti, and banners hung from overpasses. They also marched through Boston Common and made their presence known at Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
The most active groups in New England were Patriot Front and the Nationalist Social Club (NSC-131). Activity by the Goyim Defense League, an antisemitic network that grew dramatically last year, was recorded in Vermont and Rhode Island, according to the center.
Massachusetts ranked second only to Texas in amount of propaganda reported in 2022, the ADL noted. Propaganda was reported in every state except Hawaii.
Peggy Shukur, interim regional director for ADL New England, said these groups deliberately target Jewish, Muslim, Black, non-white, and LGBTQ communities, often with their faces hidden or disguised, in acts of incitement.
“White supremacist propaganda has the dual and devious purpose to intimidate specific groups and lure others to join their hateful activities,” Shukur said. “Too many of these groups have set New England as their home base.”
The number of recorded incidents of hateful propaganda nearly doubled across the five states in ADL’s New England region, according to an ADL announcement:
- In Massachusetts, where nearly 7 million people live, there were 465 incidents of hateful propaganda recorded by ADL in 2022, up 71 percent from a year prior.
- In New Hampshire, where about 1.4 million people live, there were 183 incidents recorded in 2022, up 383 percent from a year prior.
- In Rhode Island, where nearly 1.1 million people live, there were 142 incidents recorded in 2022, up 74 percent from a year prior.
- In Vermont, where about 650,000 people live, there were 131 incidents recorded in 2022, up 63 percent from a year prior.
- In Maine, where nearly 1.4 million people live, there were 30 incidents recorded in 2022, up 50 percent from a year prior.
In response to concerns about rising hate activity in his state, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella announced civil charges in January against NSC-131, group founder Christopher R. Hood Jr., and a man named Leo Anthony Cullinan related to “Keep New England White” banners that were hung from an overpass in Portsmouth, N.H., in July 2022.
In Suffolk County, Massachusetts, the district attorney added civil rights prosecutors in 2022 over concerns about hate group activity, including actions by NSC-131 and Patriot Front.
The uptick in activity in New England is part of nationwide trend, according to Oren Segal, vice president of ADL’s Center on Extremism.
“The sheer volume of white supremacist propaganda distributions we are documenting around the country is alarming and dangerous,” Segal said. “Hardly a day goes by without communities being targeted by these coordinated, hateful actions, which are designed to sow anxiety and create fear.”
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @reporterporter.
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