Portsmouth teen charged with hateful graffiti targeting Temple, businesses

PORTSMOUTH — A 17-year-old accused of spray painting hateful imagery and messages on downtown businesses, homes and houses of worship is facing 22 counts of violating the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, according to New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella.

The teenager, a Portsmouth resident and former Portsmouth High School student, allegedly damaged property on Feb. 21, prompting a strong rebuke of the actions by leaders and business owners across the city. Investigators found hateful images, which included swastikas, crosses and the Star of David, among other symbols, were spray painted at 18 locations.

The attorney general named the suspect in a press release. Because he is under age 18, Seacoast Media Group is not including his name in this story.

Portsmouth police's criminal investigation into the property damage and criminal mischief is ongoing, according to Detective Sgt. Kevin McCarthy.

The civil complaint, which was filed in Rockingham County Superior Court Thursday, alleges the suspect's actions were motivated by race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and national origin.

Each violation of the Civil Rights Act allows for a maximum civil penalty of $5,000. Violations of the Civil Rights Act also empower the court to restrain the defendant from committing future violations of the Civil Rights Act and other hate-motivated conduct for three years, according to the attorney general. The Civil Rights Unit has asked the court to implement a preliminary restraining order to protect the victims and the public.

“Hateful acts that are motivated by intolerance for our fellow citizens have no place in New Hampshire and will not be tolerated,” Formella said in a prepared statement. “The Department of Justice will continue to use every tool at our disposal, including robust enforcement of the state’s Civil Rights Act, to combat hate and ensure that New Hampshire remains a place where people of all backgrounds feel welcome and have the opportunity to live their lives free from discrimination, fear, and intimidation.”

Teen also suspect in 2022 incidents

The civil complaint also alleges that between April 20 and April 21, 2022, the same teenager damaged property at four additional locations. He is accused of stealing or attempting to steal LGBTQ+ pride flags located at a residence and a house of worship in Portsmouth, including one displayed by the North Church near Market Square.

In that period, Formella alleged, the suspect allegedly vandalized the St. John’s Monastic Lodge with antisemitic and homophobic graffiti. He is also accused of taking a video of himself burning a stolen Ukrainian flag, while denouncing Ukraine, the Ukrainian people, the LGBTQ+ community. The suspect then allegedly sent the video to the entire sophomore class at Portsmouth High School.

“This (expletive) country needs to burn in hell. Can’t wait to see all these Ukrainians dies. We love Putin. We love Russia. (Expletive) Ukraine. (Expletive) gay people,” he said, according to the complaint.

The Ukrainian flag was allegedly stolen from St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, the complaint states.

February 2023 incident occurred in overnight hours

The complaint states the teenager spray painted a swastika on a wall beneath the Bartlett Street railroad bridge around 1 a.m. on Feb. 21.

Temple Israel was targeted, as were downtown staples Cup of Joe Cafe & Bar, which is owned by the Portsmouth Assistant Mayor Joanna Kelley, in addition to Macro Polo, Deadwicks, 3 Bridges Yoga, Cotillion Bureau and Grim North Tattoo & Piercing, among others. St. John’s Episcopal Church was struck with two instances of graffiti, according to McCarthy.

Surveillance cameras set up by Grim North Tattoo & Piercing on High Street initially captured footage of a person in a hooded red sweatshirt, khaki pants, white shoes and orange-rimmed glasses defacing the business with spray paint on Feb. 21.

The business provided images after the incident showing two red swastikas, one on the door and another on a window, and a red “X” sprayed over a sign hanging in the window reading, “You Are Loved.”

The teen is accused of also defacing Mojo’s West End Tavern, two Marcy Street residences, the city's High-Hanover parking garage, Portsmouth Smoke and Vape and Stroll Café.

The teenager, according to the complaint, then walked home using a pedestrian bridge over Market Street, which he allegedly defaced, an incident not reported to police until days later.

“There, he spray painted a Star of David, a red ‘X,’ the word ‘Juden,’ which means Jews in German, and the phrase ‘White Lives Matter,’” the complaint reads.

Portsmouth responds with 'Love Blooms Here'

Three days after the February incident, Kelley hosted a “Love Blooms Here” event at her Cup of Joe business, with help from numerous community leaders and area florists. Volunteers picked up donated flowers at her shop and dropped them off at other businesses targeted by the hateful graffiti in a show of support.

Reacting to the civil charges on Thursday afternoon, Kelley said she was saddened the complaint “confirmed some of my beliefs that we have some really deep-rooted issues in Portsmouth that we need to fix.

“These are not random one-off events,” she said. “It’s a build-up of momentum that’s continuously happening in our community, and it's clearly getting younger and younger. We need to all be on the same page and have the knowledge that this is happening here.

“I hope that it’s a wake-up call in our community that there are people who don't think Portsmouth is as welcoming as we want it to be,” Kelley said.

Second recent Civil Rights Act case in Portsmouth

In mid-January, Portsmouth leaders joined Formella as he announced violations against Christopher Hood, leader of a neo-Nazi group the Nationalist Social Club, and another group member, Leo Collinan of Manchester. They allegedly displayed a banner reading "Keep New England White" over Route 1 in Portsmouth in 2022.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth teen charged with hateful graffiti