The politicking for next year’s US Presidential Election is not only impossible to avoid as it is blanketed over the media but it is making us aware how so much of it is driven by sheer unfettered hate. In previous years the rhetoric may have been driven by the customary attacking of rival candidates but it seems like so much of the ugly venom is aimed at us the voters.
There would have been a time when Americans. (like us) who chose to live in Democratic areas of the country would feel both safer and more relaxed, but even that is been eaten away. Here in Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has had to file a lawsuit against a self-described neo-Nazi group for “an escalating series of unlawful and discriminatory incidents” targeting LGBTQ+ events and immigrants.
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The lawsuit accuses the National Socialist Club, also known as NSC-131, and its two leaders, Christopher Hood and Liam McNeil, of repeatedly engaging in “violent, threatening, intimidating, and coercive conduct that has interfered with the exercise of rights secured by state and federal law; unlawfully obstructed access to public accommodations, including libraries and hotels; and damaged, defaced, and unlawfully intruded upon property throughout Massachusetts.” According to the complaint, NSC-131 describes itself as a Nazi organization and “engages in a range of activities that it claims are intended to identify and combat the ‘enemies’ of ‘true white New Englanders.’”
Up to now, we have been so proud that generally Mass is considered the most left-leaning state in the US, and all of the state’s Congressional representatives and both US senators are Democrats, while Democrats also form the large majority of the state’s legislature, although the state has a history of electing Republican governors, the present incumbent is a Democrat openly gay lesbian
NSC has repeatedly indicated that it targeted the Drag Queen Story Hour events because of the sexual orientation and/or gender identity of the people involved in organizing the events, the performers at the events, and/or the people attending the events.. Last December at Fall River Public Library Massachusetts, uniformed NSC members held a banner reading “Drag Queens Are Pedophiles,” shouted anti-LGBTQ+ slurs at attendees, and assaulted two people associated with the group that organized the event.
The group is also accused of carrying out vigilante “patrols” hunting for “anti-White” activity in cities and towns throughout Massachusetts since at least 2020. “In practice, this means that uniformed Club members roam public streets and neighborhoods – generally at night –defacing property, seeking out physical confrontations with their ‘enemies,’ and otherwise causing a disruption and threat to public peace and safety,” according to the complaint. The suit alleges that armed members of NSC-131 “trespassed upon and ‘tagged’ public and private property to claim territory for the Club.”
The Attorney General is seeking injunctive relief against NSC-131 and its leaders, as well as “monetary awards related to civil penalties, damages, and other costs, amongst other forms of potential relief,” according to the press release.
“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,” Campbell said. “My office will continue to do all it can to protect our residents’ and visitors’ civil rights and public safety.”
