New Hampshire judge throws out civil rights case against neo-Nazi group

A New Hampshire judge delivered a blow to state officials trying to curtail a neo-Nazi group that has been recruiting across New England, reported WBUR on Wednesday.

"The ruling handed down Monday came after Attorney General John Formella brought a civil rights petition against the group, NSC-131, and two of its members, Leo Cullinan and Christopher Hood, in January," reported Todd Bookman. "The defendants are accused of trespassing onto a bridge in Portsmouth last summer, and hanging a banner that read 'Keep New England White.' The civil case, which had been scheduled for trial in late July, came with potential fines for Hood and Cullinan, but no jail time."

NSC stands for Nationalist Social Club — a reference to the far-right populist ideology of National Socialism, from which the original Nazis in Germany derived their name. The group seeks to turn New England into a whites-only ethnostate.

"The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing their actions were protected on free speech grounds, and that they removed the banner as soon as they were notified by law enforcement that they were potentially violating a Portsmouth ordinance," said the report. "In a 21-page opinion released Monday, Rockingham County Superior Court Judge David Ruoff dismissed the petitions, ruling that the state’s interpretation of the trespass ordinance, as well as the Civil Rights Statute, was overly broad as it applied to the banner."

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“The conduct alleged in the complaints, while reprehensible by most civilized standards, does not fit any definition of ‘trespass’ other than the one the Court has concluded is unconstitutional,” concluded Ruoff. Formella has already vowed to appeal the decision.

In recent years, NSC-131, along with other neofascist groups like Patriot Front, have ramped up their recruiting efforts in the Northeast, which is famous for its liberal politics due to high college education rates and low rates of organized religion — but is also one of the whitest regions of the country, making it attractive for white nationalists as a location for ethnic enclaves. Boston, too, has seen extremist activity, with white supremacists conducting marches and dropping fliers around the city.