Posted on 01/22/2023 8:27:46 AM PST by BenLurkin
Named in the complaint is Christopher Hood, whose last known address was Pepperell, Massachusetts, and Leo Anthony Cullinan of Manchester, New Hampshire. Hood founded NSC-131 New England and is regional organizer of the virulently racist "White Lives Matter" national movement. Cullinan is the regional leader for New Hampshire and recruiter for NSC-131 New England.
The civil rights complaints against them and the organization stem from an incident on July 30, 2022, where Hood and other members of NSC-131 are alleged to have hung a "Keep New England white" banner from an overpass overlooking U.S. Route 1 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, without permission. Under state law, certain unlawful acts motivated by race are considered violations of the Civil Rights Act.
"So hanging that banner without permission was a trespass,” said Formella. “What was written on the banner makes it pretty clear that that trespass was motivated by race. And so that was a violation of our Civil Rights Act.”
NSC-131 regularly plasters racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic posters on public and private buildings and hangs banners from overpasses throughout New England, but New Hampshire is believed to be the first to take state-level legal action against the group.
The charges against Hood and fellow neo-Nazis raises questions about First Amendment protections. But Formella, a conservative Republican who is viewed as a free speech advocate, said NSC-131’s actions are not constitutionally protected.
“What the First Amendment doesn't protect is the ability to engage in unlawful acts,” he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at wgbh.org ...
Neo Nazis. What a bunch of nutjobs.
What if their sign said: All Lives Matter?
If you think that police state thugs are really just after the "fringe" then you are delusional.
How many people have they killed? How many people have they injured? How many buildings have they burned?
“Black Lives Matter” is a racist statement.
Their kind of crpp is why conservatism is losing support in the American electorate.
That's a really stupid statement.
“Keep New England white”
LOL! I think that ship has already sailed
This also applies to prosecution. "Prosecutorial discretion" can not be so broad as to consistently apply different standards to favored content. If the Left routinely trespasses with their leaflets, flyers and banners (including race-motivated BLM banners), and are never prosecuted, but the Right is, that too violates the First Amendment.
But it would take expensive First Amendment lawyers to vigorously pursue such an avenue of defense. They'd have to engage in much discovery to show a pattern of discriminatory prosecution of banners, flyers, etc.
But the state applies different standards to different content, prosecuting some, ignoring others. That's a dangerous road to travel, and as the Summer of Floyd shows, we're well along that road.
Why would anyone want to defend these guys?
“First they came for the Neo-Nazis.....”
Unless I approve it, I want all signs banned and made illegal.
At the end of the day who are people like this I say a combination of crazy people heavily peppered by federal informants and undercover agents feeding the insanity of the crazies.
AntiFa burns police cars and throws explosives.
Media: meh
“Neo-Nazis” hang signs.
Media: We must crack down on violent thugs
I wonder if Mr. Hood has a reasonable defamation case against Mr. Martin.
If you have to ask, you deserve what’s coming.
“The charges against Hood and fellow neo-Nazis raises questions about First Amendment protections.”
Also raises questions about equal protection. When nationwide, violent, destructive protests target people who even dare to say that all lives matter and the crimes committed by these protestors are largely ignored by law enforcement and lawmakers, how can they grandstand in attempts to hold people accountable for “hate speech”?
Start with the "yeah, buts" and you are off to the fascist races.
Who cares what they wrote on that sign? The Dude has got it right:
You can burn dozens of major cities, all while promoting white people bad and evil, but if you put up a sign supporting the white race, you’re in big trouble.
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