The NH Supreme Court decided that NSC-13’s actions in Portsmouth were protected free speech
Portsmouth: The New Hampshire Supreme Court recently ruled that a white supremacist group, NSC-13, didn’t break the state’s Civil Rights Act. They had displayed a banner saying “KEEP NEW ENGLAND WHITE” from an overpass.
In a unanimous decision, the court dismissed a lawsuit from the state against the group. Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald pointed out that the state overstepped by trying to apply the civil rights law in this case, which infringed on the group’s free speech rights.
MacDonald noted that the state’s interpretation of the law could stifle protected speech. The incident dates back to July 2022 when NSC-13 members hung the banner. Police stopped them, saying they needed a permit to hang banners from overpasses, and they took it down shortly after.
The attorney general’s office tried to sue the group, claiming they violated the Civil Rights Act by trespassing while motivated by race. However, the defendants argued that the state misread the law, and the ACLU of New Hampshire backed them up.
A lower court judge agreed with NSC-13, stating that the state’s approach was too broad and violated free speech rights. The Supreme Court’s ruling clarifies that the state must prove defendants knew they were breaking the law to enforce the trespassing aspect of the Civil Rights Act.
The state believed they met this requirement since the NSC-13 members wore masks and didn’t identify themselves to police. But MacDonald disagreed with that reasoning. The decision was supported by other justices, while one justice is currently on leave due to unrelated felony charges.
