More hate-speech flyers dropped in Rocky Hill, after rally disrupted by white supremacist
White supremacist flyers were dropped for the second time in less than a month in Rocky Hill on Tuesday night, local officials report.
The latest propaganda drop happened two days after an anti-racist rally in town was disrupted by a man believed to be a white supremacist, town activists report.
The latest flyers were dropped in a residential area near Old Main Street and Goff Brook Lane on Tuesday, according to town police. A police statement described the flyers this week as “containing inflammatory language similar to the flyer distribution in April.”
The April 13 propaganda drop happened on Valley View Drive. On that day, papers the size and shape of cookie fortunes were dropped. Those papers read “Black crimes matter” and “defend white communities” and included the email address of New England Nationalist Social Club.
Flyers with that email address have been dropped in several Hartford-area towns in recent years. The flyers often take different forms. It’s unclear what the flyers distributed Tuesday say or whether the flyers had an email address.
A rally was held Sunday at CREC Academy of Aerospace and Engineering in town in response to the April 13 propaganda drop.
Valerie Triblets, of the Racial Justice Steering Committee at Rocky Hill Congregational Church, said Sunday’s rally had several speakers.
“Afterward they asked if there were any questions. This man asked, why is it wrong for him to defend his race when other people were defending their race,” Triblets said. “What he said was similar to Nazi rhetoric you hear, white replacement theory. There was some commotion when he said that.”
Triblets said local activists do not know the man’s identity or affiliations.
New England Nationalist Social Club has been identified as neo-Nazi by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and as racist and antisemitic by the Anti-Defamation League.
On Wednesday morning, Mayor Lisa Marotte issued a statement:
“We are aware of the recent papering of neighborhoods with subversive messaging. We take these actions seriously and continue to work with appropriate law enforcement resources on a prompt resolution. Residents are asked to report similar incidents to the Rocky Hill Police Department Detective Division at (860) 258-7640. While we understand these messages can be alarming, we recognize they are not representative of our community. We support the numerous community-led efforts shining a light on unity and embracing the gift of diversity in our town.”
That statement is co-signed by Town Councilor Christopher Duff and Tom Cosker of the Rocky Hill Commission on Inclusion & Innovation.
A statement from town police read: “This investigation is ongoing and we are currently working with our local, state and federal partners. Residents are encouraged to call the Rocky Hill Police Department and report similar incidents so we can investigate any further distribution appropriately.”
Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com
