Local News
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire's highest court on Friday upheld a judge's dismissal of civil rights complaints against a white nationalist group that prosecutors said committed trespassing when it launched “Keep New England White” without authorization in 2022 banner from an overpass.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court, in its first review of the state's civil rights law, agreed with the lower court judge that prosecutors' interpretation of the law was unconstitutionally overbroad.
The court explained that the state's interpretation of the law provides for state sanctions against individuals who inadvertently invade public property and whose presence is motivated by considered one of the characteristics laid out in the law. These characteristics include race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.
“Such a broad statement discourages the expression of certain messages for fear of government sanctions under the law due to the content of the messages expressed,” the court wrote in its opinion.
The court also said it was “not persuaded” that the complaints “sufficiently allege” that group members intentionally trespassed.
The attorney general's office said it was dissatisfied with the court's decision but respected it, spokesman Michael Garrity said in an announcement.
“Our office remains steadfast in its commitment to enforcing the Civil Rights Act to ensure that all Granite Staters are free from discrimination, violence and hateful threats. “We will continue to explore all options to protect the rights and safety of our communities,” the statement said.
William Gens, a lawyer representing the group, said its members were “very happy with the decision and it was based on reasons that we had put forward all along.” He said the attorney general's interpretation “failed to adequately inform the public as to what conduct, including the speech portion of conduct, constitutes a violation of the law.”
The complaints alleged that the Nationalist Social Club, also generally known as NSC-131, and two of its members trespassed on public property and hung the banners on the overpass overlooking U.S. Route 1 in Portsmouth for racist reasons. About 10 people participated, the complaints say. The complaints asked a judge to issue an order banning the group and its members from threatening physical violence or violence and interesting in discriminatory behavior for 3 years.
NSC-131 was identified by the Anti-Defamation League as a New England-based neo-Nazi group founded in 2019 that “advocates racism, anti-Semitism and intolerance” and whose “members are a collection of neo-Nazis and racist skinheads, many of them.” “They were previously members of other white supremacist groups.”
A second lawsuit from the attorney general's office against the group is pending. She accuses the group of violations in response to an indication outside a Concord cafe where a drag story hour was happening.
image credit : www.boston.com