Neo-Nazi group protests outside migrant hotel. What Marlborough officials said about it

MARLBOROUGH — Guests staying at the Extended Stay America in Marlborough were subjected to a display from a white supremacist group outside the hotel on Saturday, which included an anti-immigrant banner and xenophobic chants aimed at the people staying at the hotel.

According to Marlborough police, the department was contacted at 8:26 p.m. on Saturday about a disturbance at the hotel, located at 19 Northborough Road. Police were told there were 15 to 20 men, wearing black masks and sweatshirts and holding up a banner.

According to a video that was published on social media from someone staying at the hotel, the group can be seen holding a banner that reads "Invaders: Go Home" with lit flares. The group can be heard chanting such things as "Refugees, go home" and "Who's streets, our streets" at the hotel guests.

Police said the group had dispersed before they arrived, and that they secured the area without any further incident. Marlborough police Sgt. Zachary Attaway said that legally speaking, the members of the group could be charged with trespassing if they were unwanted on the site of a private business like the hotel, but no charges have been filed.

The Extended Stay America is one of several hotels in the area that are currently being used as temporary housing for homeless families. With a recent increase in migrant families entering the state, largely due to a surge of Haitian migrants who are escaping violence in their own country, the state has moved homeless migrant families into hotels across the state as temporary housing.

White supremacist group behind protest

The banner in the video has a website address for the Gab (an alt-right social media site) account for a group called NSC-131 New England, a group which the Anti-Defamation League states is a neo-Nazi group based in New England. The ADL states that "NSC-131 members consider themselves soldiers at war with a hostile, Jewish-controlled system that is deliberately plotting the extinction of the white race."

According to the ADL, the group has been involved in a number of counter-protests and incidents at events such as Black Lives Matter rallies and LGBT events in the New England area, primarily in Boston and Rhode Island.

Members of the NSC-131 New England group could not be reached for immediate comment.

Immigrants in Marlborough: Surge in asylum-seekers has officials worried about impact on schools

Political leaders speak out

Marlborough Mayor Arthur Vigeant said he was disturbed to the see the video of the incident in Marlborough.

"It was obviously very disturbing to see that kind if display in Marlborough," Vigeant said. "The Extended Stay America is home not only to migrants, but also homeless families that are staying in Marlborough. We are all trying to deal with this situation the best that we can. I thought the Police Department did the best job they could breaking up the protest, these are not very organized people, they dispersed very quickly."

Vigeant said that the Marlborough Police Department has increased the amount of patrols the department has made around the hotels housing migrants.

“I was alarmed, I saw the video and I’ve had several constituents reach out to me who are deeply offended and concerned about the anti-immigrant and hateful comments," state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, who represents Marlborough, said. “I completely condemn that kind of behavior.”

Eldridge said that he spoke with state Secretary of Housing Edward Augustus about the issue, particularly regarding the behavior of the NSC-131 group targeting hotels that are currently housing migrant families. Eldridge said that he also has reached out to the service providers such as the South Middlesex Opportunity Council and Eliot Community Human Services, that are working with the migrant groups, to make sure they are aware of the incident.

Eldridge that there is a need for the community as a whole to condemn this kind of behavior taking place across the state.

“We have seen neo-Nazi groups across the state target not only migrants, but events such as drag shows and LGBT gatherings, and I’m thinking there is a real need in general for the community to condemn this kind of behavior,” Eldridge said. “Over the summer I saw a group of men with face coverings walking through parts of Boston. This is happening all over the state, and if we are silent this kind of activity is just going to continue. The more public disapproval of these hate groups we have, the less likely events like this are going to happen.”

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Anti-immigrant demonstration takes place outside Marlborough hotel