WEYMOUTH, Mass. — At least three plastic baggies with rocks and neo-Nazi propaganda were found this week on lawns along Pierce Road, Weymouth Police said Thursday.
Investigators said the flyers were dropped by the Nationalist Social Club, a hate group founded in Worcester in 2019 and responsible for similar propaganda discovered in Hamilton and Ipswich. The rocks were likely used to give the baggies weight so they could be thrown easily from a passing vehicle, Lt. Paul Carey said.
Police were unable to find surveillance video and are urging neighbors to be on the lookout for more flyers.
“My neighbor next door picked it up,” Ron MacGillivray said. “She was concerned so she didn’t open it. She didn’t know if there was anything inside of it, powder or something like that.”
“I’ve been here for 45 years and we’ve never had anything like that around here,” MacGillivray said.
Robert Trestan, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League New England, said there has been a dramatic increase in hate speech in recent months.
“In the last few days we have seen 12 incidents of white supremacy [propaganda spread] across New England, in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. That’s 12 cities and towns suddenly infected with some type of hatred,” Trestan said.
Trestan said NSC is a smaller organization with no chapters outside New England.
“They’re always trying to attract new people. Part of their [propaganda] is to generate traffic to their website. If they’re selling products, it’s to sell those products, and of course they’re trying to appeal to people to join their ranks,” Trestan said.
Trestan said it’s important for people to call police when they encounter hate group propaganda so law enforcement and civil rights groups can track it.
“Anytime a message is rooted in racism, anti-Semitism or white supremacy, it’s inherently dangerous,” he said. “We know this kind of vitriol inspires and incites people to commit acts of violence and vandalism.”
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