White supremacist group could face stiff fines for hanging racist sign

NSC-131 leader Christopher Hood (Police mugshots)

PORTSMOUTH - The state's Civil Rights Unit and Portsmouth Police have begun an enforcement action against the National Social Club-131 and its leader for allegedly violating the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act.

The civil complaints allege that on July 30 Christopher Hood led a group of NSC-131 members, including Leo Anthony Cullinan who trespassed on public property by hanging banners that read "Keep New England White" from an overpass overlooking Route 1 in Portsmouth. The complaints also allege that both Hood and Cullinan conspired to violate the Civil Rights Act by agreeing, in conjunction with other NSC-131 members, to travel to Portsmouth and hang the sign. The allegations include that the pair as well as club members were motivated by race.

NSC-131 is a neo-Nazi organization; the numbers 131 stand for ACA or "Anti-Communist Action," according to Wikipedia.

The club, founded in 2019 in eastern Massachusetts by Hood, saw some of its members among those arrested in the Jan. 6 Capitol melee.

In March it attracted attention by bringing signs to the Boston Saint Patrick's Day parade stating "keep Boston Irish," a move quickly condemned by the parade's organizer and local politicians including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

The civil complaint against NSC-131, an unincorporated association with members in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and other New England states, alleges that at least 10 members of NSC-131 participated in the Civil Rights Act violation and therefore NSC-131, as an unincorporated association, can be liable for violating the Civil Rights Act.

Each violation of the Civil Rights Act allows for a maximum civil penalty of $5,000. Violations of the Civil Rights Act also empower the court to restrain the defendant from committing future violations of the Civil Rights Act and other hate-motivated conduct for three years.

The Civil Rights Unit enforces state civil rights laws, including the Civil Rights Act and the New Hampshire Law Against Discrimination. Anyone who believes their civil rights have been violated may file a complaint at https://www.doj.nh.gov/civil-rights/index.htm or by calling 603-271-3650.