Event Date: July 23, 2022
Organized by: Nationalist Social Club – NSC 131
White Supremacists/Fascists Present:
- Chris Hood
- Leo Cullinan
- Austin Conti
- Liam MacNeil
- Chase Gilroy
- Stephen Farrea
- Jason Lowe
- Cody Baker
- Kevin Cottle
- Harrison Fournier
- Adam Stelmack
- Ryan Michael Roy
- Tyler Moody
- Steven Mark Van Zelst, Jr.
- Edward Stuart
- Alexander Dugan
- Michael Nazzaro
- Jeremy Cayford
Key Takeaways/Facts:
- Loring Greenough House in Jamaica Plain hosted a Drag Queen Story Hour for local children. NSC-131 attempted to interrupt the event and displayed a large homophobic banner reading “Pedo Scum Off Our Streets”.
- Local community members mobilized and quickly outnumbered their crowd, protecting the children and drag queens inside the event.
- NSC members assaulted four women and nonbinary people, two of them over the age of 60.
- Chris Hood verbally and physically intimidated two community members, one a trans woman. Boston Police Department arrested Hood and the two targets. The Commonwealth dropped charges against the two targets after a strong community-led response demanded it. As of this writing, Hood is being prosecuted for affray, and is banned from approaching the original targets of his attack.
- At the following court date, NSC members assaulted Rod Webber, an anti-fascist documentarian, and Webber was arrested by Boston Police.
Impact:
- The community’s rapid response to Neo-Nazi violence and intimidation effectively protected participants and performers.
- Campaigns to defend community members from frame-up charges can be effective as part of an overall community response to white supremacist attacks.
Media Coverage:
- “Nazis Tried to Protest a Drag Queen Story Hour at the Loring Greenough House,” David Ertischek, Jamaica Plain News, July 25 2022
- “Neo-Nazi group founder arrested at demonstration outside JP venue hosting drag queen story hour,” Laura Crimaldi, John Hilliard, Camilla Caldera, Boston Globe, July 23, 2022
- “A drag queen shares experience dealing with neo-Nazis disrupting a story hour event in Jamaica Plain,” Sydney Boles, Tiziana Dearing, WBUR, July 28, 2022
Social Media Coverage:
- Loring Greenough House Statement, Facebook post, July 23, 2022