NH Supreme Court upholds judge’s ruling on ‘Keep New England White’ banners

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 say trespassed when it displayed signs without permission reading “Keep to White New England” on an overpass in 2022.

The New Hampshire Supreme Court, in its first analysis of the state’s Civil Rights Act, agreed with the lower court judge that state prosecutors’ interpretation of the law was unconstitutionally overbroad.

The court said the state’s interpretation of the law imposes government sanctions on people who unintentionally trespass on public property and whose presence is motivated by one of the characteristics listed in the law. Those characteristics include race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability.

“Such a broad scope discourages the expression of certain messages for fear of government sanctions under the law based on the content of the messages expressed,” the court wrote in its opinion.

The court also said it was “not convinced” that the complaints “sufficiently allege” that the group members knowingly trespassed on the property.

The attorney general’s office said it was disappointed by the court’s decision but respects it, spokesman Michael Garrity said in a statement.

“Our office remains steadfast in enforcing the Civil Rights Act to ensure that all Granite State residents are free from hate-motivated discrimination, violence, and 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 pleased with the decision and it was based on the arguments we made from the beginning.” He said the attorney general’s interpretation “did not adequately advise the public of what conduct, including the speech portion of the conduct, constituted a violation of the statute.”

The complaints alleged that the Nationalist Social Club, also known as NSC-131, and two of its members trespassed on public property and were motivated by race by hanging the banners on the overpass overlooking U.S. Route 1 in Portsmouth. According to the complaints, about 10 people participated. The complaints asked a judge to issue an order prohibiting the group and its members from engaging in threats of physical force or violence and discriminatory behavior for three years.

NSC-131 has been identified by the Anti-Defamation League as a New England-based neo-Nazi group founded in 2019 that “espouses racism, anti-Semitism, and bigotry” and whose “members are a group of neo-Nazis and racist skinheads, many of “all of whom have prior membership in other white supremacist groups.”

A second complaint filed against the group by the Attorney General’s Office is pending. He accuses the group of rape in response to a demonstration outside a Concord cafe hosting a drag storytime event.