Protesters overshadow court hearings in latest white supremacist incident in Boston
BOSTON – Protesters overshadowed court proceedings Monday following the latest white supremacist incident in Boston.
Prosecutors dropped charges against two counter-protesters who were arrested on Saturday while confronting a white supremacist group called the National Socialist Club. The confrontation happened outside a meeting of LGBTQ community members in Jamaica Plain.
Though the counter-protesters will no longer face charges, the state is still seeking an arraignment against Christopher Hood, the alleged leader of the white supremacy group that is also called Nationalist Social Club 131 or NSC-131.
The Civil Rights Unit of the Boston Police Department said members of the group were protesting during a drag queen story hour for kids at the Loring Greenough House in Jamaica Plain on Saturday.
Witness video of the self-proclaimed neo-Nazis shows the group of white men wearing hats standing behind a banner that said, "Pedo Scum Off Our Streets."
NSC-131 was started in Massachusetts in 2019, according to the Anti-Defamation League. "NSC members see themselves as soldiers at war with a hostile, Jewish-controlled system that is deliberately plotting the extinction of the white race," the ADL's website states.
According to court documents, Hood allegedly got into a fight with a counter-protester. A second counter-protester was accused of vandalizing a car.
"We're here to support the people who were arrested when really they were engaging in self-defense against white supremacists and Nazis," one woman said outside of court.
NSC members did not respond to questions from reporters Monday outside of court.
"In the fight against bigotry and the fight against white supremacy, the only thing that we have is our beloved community," said Kendra Hicks, a Boston city councilor who represents Jamaica Plain.
Robert Trestan, director of the ADL in New England, said the NSC-131 group's activity has intensified recently.
"In the last month, every New England state has been hit by some sort of propaganda or public protest," Trestan said, "They believe that they are under attack, that their sense of white heritage is being challenged and so what we're seeing is them acting out."
Trestan said NSC-131 training materials show the men sparring together.
"They're prepared to fight you. They're prepared to provoke a violent incident," he said. "That's why it's important to call 911."
Earlier this year, members of the group were seen holding a sign at the Boston Saint Patrick's Day Parade stating, "Keep Boston Irish."
Prosecutors said Hood was also previously arrested for posting hate fliers in East Boston.
Hood is scheduled to be back in court on September 19.
"Seeing the Nazis is enraging and demoralizing," a woman speaking on behalf of the counter-protesters said on Monday.