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Neo-Nazi group claim racist graffiti, attack Latino lawmaker

By The Associated Press - | May 23, 2021

State Rep. Manny Espitia

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — A neo-Nazi group claimed it left racist and anti-Semitic graffiti on a wall in Nashua and insulted a Latino lawmaker who pointed to the slogans as evidence of racism in the area.

On Tuesday, State Rep. Manny Espitia tweeted a photo of the three slogans painted on a wall he said was in his district, WMUR-TV reported. The graffiti read, “Keep New England white,” “Defend New England” and “Death to Israel.”

“For folks who think that we live in a ‘color blind society’ you’re absolutely wrong. This was done in my district and in (a) mostly Latino neighborhood,” he wrote in the tweet.

The next day, the neo-Nazi group posted a threatening message on Telegram, a different social media platform, that implied only white people had a right to live in New Hampshire. The group describes itself as a white nationalist group and in one post wrote that the lawmaker would “find the Granite State is EXTREMELY racist.”

Espitia, a Democrat, told the broadcaster he would not live in fear of racism and encouraged other people to talk about incidents where people express racist or hateful views.

The New Hampshire House Democratic Caucus denounced the group’s posts, saying people of color have the right to live in the state without being threatened or discriminated against. House Democratic Leader Ray Buckley asked the state attorney general’s office to look into the posts.

“We’ve also engaged our civil rights unit to determine if there is, in fact, a crime,” Deputy Attorney General Jane Young told the broadcaster. “Does it rise to the level of a hate crime or are there civil penalties that could be brought by that unit?”

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