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White pride group to protest in Hudson, NH

'White pride' group plans Hudson rally

'White pride' group plans Hudson rally
Organization protested illegal immigration in town in 2006
By JOSEPH G. COTE, Staff Writer

HUDSON – A New England-based group of "white pride" enthusiasts that visited Hudson two years ago is planning an encore Saturday to protest illegal immigration.

Northeast White Pride is organizing a "Close the Border" demonstration in Hudson for July 5. The Web site forums where the protest is being organized don't mention a specific location.

Police Chief Richard Gendron said the demonstration is perfectly legal as long as the picketers stick to holding signs and don't impede traffic.

"I don't foresee any problems. We will certainly patrol the area to make sure it's a peaceful demonstration," Gendron said.

The group did not cause any problems when it demonstrated in Library Park in July 2006, he said.

Gendron said there will be an increased police presence if an anti-protest develops, to make sure the two groups don't clash.

It does not appear the group needs a permit for a small gathering, according to Executive Assistant Priscilla Boisvert.

The section of the town code that regulates outdoor gatherings and activities states that organizers need a permit for events that "may cause an excess amount of noise and/or inconvenience to any resident" of Hudson.

Typically, it is events like Old Home Days, where hundreds of people are invited that are required to have permits.According to the forum on the group's Web site, www.newp.org, the "Close the Border" demonstration is an annual event.

The forum post announcing the July 5 event mentions the Hudson Police Department's arrest of several illegal immigrants on trespassing charges in 2005. It also claims an influx of Hispanic immigrants to Nashua has led to an increase in "graffiti, crime and drugs."

NEWP member Rob O'Donovan, a Haverhill, Mass., resident, who posted the message announcing the protest, said it is being held in Hudson rather than Nashua to avoid antagonizing immigrants "or provoking any type of argument or altercation."

"A town of mainly white, working-class Americans is much more open to express their dissatisfaction with our current immigration crises than those trapped in a city full of illegal immigrants and legal immigrants who aid and support them," he wrote in an e-mail interview.

Forum posts following the 2006 demonstration show some group members felt their message was well-received in Hudson.

"That was definitely an awesome time. It was great to hear the honking of support, especially when it started chain reactions," one person wrote.

Gendron made it clear he doesn't agree with many of the views expressed on the NEWP Web site.

"I certainly don't condone a white supremacists group," he said. "To me, if someone wants to come here and work and they follow the laws and follow the program set in Washington, that's OK by me. If someone wants to misinterpret that, such as this group, there's nothing I can do about that."

O'Donovan said the group is not based on hate or white supremacy, but focuses on having "pride" in white history.

"We reject the popular use of the term 'racists' or 'supremacists,' as we don't hate anyone because of their cultural identity," O'Donovan wrote. "We do, however, seek to protect our own cultural identity and heritage from being obscured by those of others, especially when those customs clash significantly with the morals and ethics of our American cultural heritage."

While O'Donovan may focus on promoting white culture, some of the posters on the Web site's forums express less tolerant views, including the open use of racial epithets.

One post, which referred to Detroit, consisted mostly of a series of links to television news stories about black men running afoul of the law.

O'Donovan said the site's forum's are an open to the public "free speech zone" and not all of the comments made their reflect views held by Northeast White Pride.

"This allows people from many different beliefs to post their ideas and feelings, which often they aren't able to do in their everyday life," he wrote.

In 2005, Gendron and New Ipswich Police Chief Garrett Chamberlain began citing suspected illegal immigrants for criminal trespass.

Hudson police charged at least 10 immigrants with trespassing. But a Jaffrey-Peterborough District Court judge said the use of the law was unconstitutional because the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over regulation of immigration and the enactment of penalties.
Joseph G. Cote can be reached at 594-6415 or jcote@nashuatelegraph.com.