CONCORD, NH — The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office has opened up a new civil complaint against a Neo-Nazi group that interrupted a drag show event in Concord this June.
Group leader Christopher Hood and 19 unidentified males of The Nationalist Social Club 131, violated the New Hampshire Law Against Discrimination when they attempted to terrorize, harass and force the cancelation of a drag queen reading show at the Teatotaller Café on June 18.
Hood and his companions allegedly stood outside the cafe for more than an hour banging on the windows, chanting slurs and phrases, and saluting “fashion reminiscent of Nazi Germany”. According to the AG’s office, NSC-131 were attempting to force the Teatotaller Café into violating anti-discrimination laws.
“Acts of hate designed to terrorize an individual or business into violating our State’s antidiscrimination laws are simply wrong and will not be tolerated,” said Attorney General John Formella. “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.”
NSC-131 is an unincorporated association with members in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and other New England states, according to the New Hampshire AG’s office.
Christopher Hood was found not guilty in June for his role in a fight outside a drag queen event in Jamaica Plain last year.
Massachusetts logged the country’s sixth-highest rate of antisemitic harassment, vandalism, and assault in 2022, according to a report from the ADL Center on Extremism.
“The Law Against Discrimination requires that all discrimination complaints be filed with the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights and permit plaintiffs to request authorization to remove those complaints to court. The Civil Rights Unit has requested that the Commission for Human Rights grant it the ability to proceed directly to court,” the AG’s office says.
A violation of the Law Against Discrimination can lead to a possible fine of $10,000.
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