
Event Date: November 7, 2021
Organized by: Super Happy Fun America and Citizens Organized to Restore Rights (CORR)
Organizations Present:
White Supremacists/Fascists Present:
- Mark Sahady
- John Hugo
- Samson Racioppi
- David Steinhof
- Josh Mello
- Melissa Terra
- Katie Ferreira-Aubin
- Ronald McCarron
Key Takeaways/Facts:
- CORR and SHFA attempted their first Boston-proper public demonstration since January 6
- They attempted to keep building coalitions between overt white supremacists and anti-vaccine, anti-mask but less radicalized groups
- Public exposure of white supremacists and misogynists in leadership split the participants into opposed camps
- Panicked white supremacists destroyed their own equipment, damaged rented vehicles, and one was arrested
- Specifically, Ronald McCarron drove the SHFA van into the crowd and through a police barricade
- Antifascists successfully exploited these splits with direct counter demonstration, causing the event to break down
- Antifascists significantly out numbered the CORR and SHFA white supremacist crowd
- Boston Police Department did not provide the same level of security to white supremacists as usual
- Mark Sahady, Samson Racioppi, and other key leaders revealed their animosity toward the police they claim to support
Impact:
- CORR and SHFA have not attempted Boston-based organizing since this action, shifting focus again to the suburbs and North Shore
- Public humiliation of white supremacists and fracture in the set of people they are trying to organize and radicalize
Media Coverage:
- “Right-wing protesters, counter-demonstrators clash repeatedly on Boston Common,” John Hilliard, Boston Globe, 11/7/21 (without paywall here)
- “Protesters of COVID-19 mandates, counter demonstrators clash on Boston Common,” WCVB Channel 5/AP, 11/7/21
- “Here’s What Happened When Super Happy Fun America Tried to Protest COVID Mandates in Boston,” NBC Boston, 11/7/21
- “Protesters clash over mask and vaccine mandates at Boston Common,” Julia Taliesin, Boston.com, 11/7/21
- [our coverage] “On Nov. 7, 2021 CORR and Super Happy Fun America are holding a rally,” Confronting White Supremacy New England
Social Media Coverage
- “They come down here…”, Solidarity Against Hate – Boston, 11/12/21
- Coverage of David Steinhof, Solidarity Against Hate – Boston, 10/22/21
- Coverage of pro-police stances from CORR/SHFA, Solidarity Against Hate – Boston, 10/22/21
- Twitter video of van incident, @JaykTRT, 11/7/21