Massachusetts attorney general files complaint against neo-Nazi group NSC-131

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office filed a civil complaint Thursday against the neo-Nazi group known as NSC-131. The allegations against the group and two of its leaders include trespassing, conspiracy and civil rights violations for demonstrations the group has held against migrants and the LBGTQ+ community.

The complaint accuses the group of repeatedly engaging "in violent, threatening, intimidating, and coercive conduct that has interfered with the exercise of rights secured by state and federal law."

The complaint, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, names Christopher Hood, of Newburyport, and Liam McNeil, of Waltham, who are publicly identified as leaders of NSC-131. The two are believed to be behind social media posts claiming responsibility for disruptions at LGBTQ+ events throughout Massachusetts, rallies in several communities and protests at hotels where the state is providing shelter for unhoused and newly arrived migrant families.

Social media posts on an account by a man who claims to be Chris Hood and a Nationalist Social Group account show videos of various demonstrations and urge people to join NSC-131. The videos include groups of masked men wearing black shirts and khakis, often carrying flares and weapons.

"Since 2020, Defendants have engaged in an escalating campaign of unlawful conduct as they have attempted to 'shut down' groups and activities that they deem harmful to the interests of white New Englanders," the complaint reads.

NSC-131 is a hate group that originated in Massachusetts in 2019, according to the Anti-Defamation League. It says the initials NSC stand for Nationalist Social Club. Members of the hate group consider themselves soldiers "fighting a war against a hostile, Jewish-controlled system that is deliberately plotting the extinction of the white race," according to the ADL.

Peggy Shukur, of the ADL of New England, expressed appreciation that Campbell's office filed the complaint.

"I really want to commend the attorney general for using the laws to the fullest extent possible to hold this hate group of neo Nazis accountable for the hate they're spreading and cultivating throughout many, many communities that they target throughout New England," Shukur said.

In 2022 and 2023, the complaint alleges the group disrupted drag queen story hours, and in some cases assaulted participants, in Jamaica Plain, Boston's Seaport, Fall River and Taunton. The complaint also outlines demonstrations believed to be staged by NSC-131 at hotels where the state is providing shelter for migrant families in Kingston, Woburn and Marlborough.

The group has escaped legal consequences in New Hampshire by claiming that its activities are protected by free speech laws, and its members stay on public property. But Campbell's complaint alleges the group has trespassed on private property in Massachusetts and assaulted people during its activities, interfering with people's rights and compromising public safety.

The complaint seeks civil damages and a jury trial.