Massachusetts Hate Group Had Role In Capitol Hill Riot

WASHINGTON, DC — One of the groups that participated in Wednesday's Capitol Hill riot was NSC-131, a Massachusetts-based hate group with chapters around the world that was founded by a former Malden man in 2019.

The nonprofit Counter Extremism Project says NSC-131 is a "leaderless, decentralized organization" and lists Chris Hood, 22, as its "alleged founder." During Wednesday's riot, screenshots taken from Telegram, the encrypted social network NSC-131 uses to communicate, showed members holding up the group's logo during the riot.

It's not clear if Hood participated in Wednesday's riots in Washington, D.C. Patch left messages at Hood's listed phone number and will update this story if he responds. A woman who answered the phone number Thursday afternoon declined to comment and hung up.

On Friday, Malden Police Chief Kevin Molis said Hood no longer lives in the city. Molis received calls after this article was published and assigned a detective to verify if he was still living in the city. Molis said Hood no longer lived at the last listed address in public records and had moved to a city "north of here." He declined to disclose Hood's current address.

NSC-131 members from New England planned to travel to Washington, D.C., on a chartered bus but that trip was ultimately canceled, according to posts on Telegram. Several members of the group, however, still made it to Washington, D.C., in time for Wednesday's riot.

Other photos posted on Telegram Wednesday show the group's stickers applied to a Capitol police officer's helmet.

NSC-131's Rapid Growth

"Our heritage is under assault. We encourage our members and supporters to put these flyers up across Dixie, to show the (((enemy))) that Southern folk will not be replaced," said in a June 27 post on Telegram.

"We don't need (((your))) courts or pigs, who do nothing but imprison our folk, while letting ravenous beasts run loose to do whatever they please," the group said in another post three days later. "We just need our trusty rifle and the right to defend our lives and property with whatever force is necessary."

NSC stands for "Nationalist Social Club," according to the Anti-Defamation League, and 131 is the alphanumeric code for ACA, or Anti-Communist Action. There are chapters around the United States and in France, Hungary and Germany.

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"Originally named the New England Nationalists Club (NENC), the group was started in December 2019 by a handful of neo-Nazis in Eastern Massachusetts," the ADL says in its dossier on NSC-131. "Led by Chris Hood, the group’s original focus was covering up anarchist and gang graffiti with their own graffiti in the areas of Worcester, Boston, Quincy, Rutland and Sturbridge."

The group renamed itself the Nationalist Social Club in early 2020 and expanded in May when the white supremacist group Legion of St. Ambrose fell apart and many of its members joined NSC-131. Since then, according to ADL, the group has added chapters in Florida, Kentucky, Texas and Virginia. ADL said it also identified members in Arizona, Indiana, New Hampshire and New York.

"NSC members consider themselves soldiers fighting a war against a hostile, Jewish-controlled system that is deliberately plotting the extinction of the white race," the ADL says in its dossier. "Their goal is to form an underground network of white men who are willing to fight against their perceived enemies through localized direct actions."

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups in the U.S., says at least one member of the group put up stickers during a May 29 protest in Boston. The group's Tennseessee Chapter posted a photo of "WHITE LIVES MATTER" spray painted on the Rock, landmark at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on the same day.

'A Great Success Story'

In 2017, Hood graduated from Henry Owens High School, a Chelsea school for behaviorally and academically challenged students and adults run by the Shore Educational Collaborative. In 2016, the nonprofit featured a photo of Hood on its annual report.

"Chris is a good student, respected by his teachers, counselors, support staff, and peers," the photo's caption reads. "He is involved in Shore’s Student Council and is on the Track Team. Chris attributes his high school success to the individualized support he has received from his teachers and counselors at Shore. Chris plans to attend college after he graduates in June 2017 and intends to become a police officer. Chris’s effort and self-determination, combined with the opportunities offered by Shore, has made for a great success story."

Hood was linked to hate groups in December 2017, just months after he graduated from high school, when he was photographed participating in a "free speech" protest in Harvard Square as a member of the Patriot Front.

In addition to Patriot Front, Hood was affiliated with other white nationalist groups — including the Proud Boys and the Base — before forming NSC-131 in late 2019, according to the ADL. The New England chapter of NSC-131 was active in Black Lives Matter rallies in Boston earlier this year and provided security at a June 27 anti-Black Lives Matter rally on Boston Common, the ADL said in its dossier.

In Feb. 2019, Hood and two other men were arrested after police said they spotted them wearing masks and posting racist fliers in East Boston. Police found about 50 fliers reading "Keep America American. Report any and all illegal aliens. They are not immigrants. They are criminals. Call: 1-866-DHS-2ICE."

Police said they found a knife and brass knuckles on Hood and Tylar Larson, 20, of Rochester, New York. A third man, Matthew Wolf, 26, of Lowell, was charged with assault and battery on a police officer.

Anti-fascist groups dug up information on Hood after his arrest and urged members to call Dick's Sporting Goods in Saugus, where Hood worked. The campaign reportedly ended with Dick's firing Hood.

Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).