MA No. 2 In Nation For White Supremacist Propaganda Incidents, ADL Report Says

MASSACHUSETTS — The Bay State saw high levels of white supremacist, antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ activity in 2022, according to a new Anti-Defamation League report, with nearly 500 propaganda incidents — the second-highest in the nation.

The ADL's "Hate in the Bay State" report published this week covers a year when racists hung a banner at the 2022 St. Patrick's Day Parade, Boston Children's Hospital was shut down multiple times after bomb threats against a health center for transgender children and members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front marched through downtown Boston clad in masks.

According to the report, there were 465 white supremacist propaganda incidents in 2022, the second-highest of any state, behind only Texas. Antisemitic incidents rose from 108 in 2021 to 152 last year. There were 412 reported hate crimes in Massachusetts in 2021, an increase of 33 percent from the 310 incidents in 2020, according to FBI statistics.

The antisemitic incidents took place across the state, from swastikas found at a Westwood synagogue to a threat of violence against a Jewish student in Waltham.

On top of the Boston Children's threats — which have resulted in two arrests on federal charges — neo-Nazis targeted drag performances and drag queen storytime events in Massachusetts. Last month, the ACLU threatened to sue North Brookfield elected officials who were attempting to block a drag performance at a gay pride event. One member of the board of selectmen called drag "vulgar." Two town residents, Herb and Kristi Seymour, have since begun circulating a petition to cancel the drag event and recall an elected official who supported the performance.

According to ADL, the NSC-131 white supremacist group has grown its presence in New England in recent years to become the most present hate group. NSC-131 has also formed a new political arm called People's Initiative of New England (PINE), according to ADL, to gain a foothold in politics.

"Since its formation in April 2023, PINE has advocated for their five-point plan for New England, a more sanitized version of NSC-131’s agenda that includes seceding from the U.S. to create a 'white homeland' and ending all non-white immigration. Their goal is to eventually run a candidate for local office," the ADL report says.