The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office has filed a civil lawsuit accusing a white supremacist group's leader and 19 others of civil rights violations in the state.
The complaint centers around the actions of Nationalist Social Club-131, or NSC-131, leader Christopher Hood and 19 other unnamed members. It alleges that on June 18, 2023, Hood led the group to "terrorize" the Teatotaller Café in Concord, New Hampshire, to get them to cancel a planned drag queen story hour event. According to the AG's office, the group stood outside the business shouting homophobic slurs and phrases, chanting and saluting "in a fashion reminiscent of Nazi Germany," banging against windows and making intimidating gestures and comments directed at the performer and attendees.
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All this, the AG said, was because of the sex, sexual orientation and/or gender identity of the performers, characteristics that are protected under New Hampshire Law Against Discrimination.
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“The Department of Justice will continue to enforce the State’s antidiscrimination laws to the greatest extent possible to ensure that people of all backgrounds can live free from discrimination, fear, and intimidation because of who they are. We must and will send a clear message that New Hampshire is not and never will be a safe haven for hate groups that commit illegal acts that harm our citizens," Attorney General John Formella said in a statement.
If found in violation of the law, the defendants can face an administrative fine of up to $10,000.
The Southern Poverty Law Center identifies the group as a neo-Nazi group based in New England. The group was founded by Hood in late 2019 and is known for its racist activism which includes organizing protests and distributing hate literature.
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This is not the first time New Hampshire has taken enforcement action against the group. In January, Hood and another man were named in a complaint accusing them of hanging a hateful banner over Route 1 in New Hampshire in the summer of 2022.
A similar lawsuit was recently filed by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office for incidents in that state. Hood has also faced criminal charges for other incidents across New England.
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