Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell’s office has today filed a civil complaint in Suffolk County Superior Court against the Nationalist Social Club, a self-described neo-Nazi organization commonly known as NSC-131, and two of its leaders, Christopher Hood and Liam McNeil, in response to an escalating series of unlawful and discriminatory incidents.
These incidents include situations where NSC-131 members repeatedly attempted to disrupt and shut down events organized by LGBTQ+ community groups, and targeted hotels providing emergency shelter to recently arrived immigrants through the Commonwealth’s Emergency Assistance program. The Attorney General’s Office alleges that, in connection with these incidents and others, NSC-131 members engaged in violent, threatening, and intimidating conduct that violated state civil rights laws and unlawfully interfered with public safety. The complaint asserts claims for public nuisance, trespass, civil conspiracy and violations of the Civil Rights Act and Public Accommodations Law.
“NSC-131 has engaged in a concerted campaign to target and terrorize people across Massachusetts and interfere with 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,” said AG Campbell. “My office will continue to do all it can to protect our residents’ and visitors’ civil rights and public safety.”
The complaint alleges that between July 2022 and January 2023, NSC-131 repeatedly targeted Drag Queen Story Hours, which are children-oriented events commonly hosted by the LGBTQ+ community and others to promote inclusivity of LGBTQ+ individuals. In late 2021, NSC-131 announced that its members would “SHUT DOWN DRAG QUEEN STORY HOURS IN THE NEW ENGLAND AREA UNTIL ALL RELATED EVENTS CEASE.” NSC-131 subsequently targeted four events in Massachusetts, during which NSC-131 members allegedly attacked members of the public; engaged in other threatening, intimidating and coercive behavior; and unlawfully interfered with access to event spaces in public libraries. The events targeted by NSC-131 took place in July 2022 and August 2022 in Boston, December 2022 in Fall River, and January 2023 in Taunton.
The complaint further alleges that on at least five separate occasions between October 2022 and October 2023, NSC-131 targeted hotels providing emergency shelter to recently arrived immigrants. On social media, NSC-131 has stated that it targeted the hotels because they were providing housing to “invaders” from “Haiti,” “Central America,” and “Africa,” while espousing conspiracy theories promoting the idea that the shelters were part of a plot to implement “White replacement.” During the incidents, NSC-131 members trespassed on hotel property and engaged in other unlawful conduct to intimidate and threaten employees and guests and interfere with the operation of the hotels. The group’s targeting of the migrant hotel shelters, trespassing on their property and intimidating and harassing their residents and employees, occurred in an October 2022 incident in Kingston, on three occasions in August 2023 in Woburn, and a September 2023 incident in Marlborough.
Additionally, the complaint alleges that since at least 2020, NSC-131 has regularly conducted “patrols” of various residential neighborhoods and public spaces across the state. During such “patrols,” NSC-131 regularly trespassed on, vandalized, and damaged both public and private property. Moreover, while publicizing the “patrols” on social media, NSC-131 revealed that members carried weapons, including knives and batons, while engaged in the “patrols.”
Through filing this complaint, the AG’s Office seeks injunctive relief against the defendants in relation to each of the alleged claims, along with monetary awards related to civil penalties, damages, and other costs, amongst other forms of potential relief.
Individuals who believe they have been the victim of a civil rights violation may file a complaint with the AG’s Civil Rights Division and learn more about hate crimes and hate incidents on the AG’s website.
Original source can be found here.