Over the President’s Day weekend, Patriot Front, considered by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as a white supremacist, neo-Nazi and neo-fascist group, posted their materials in and around Arlington Center. Within hours of posting about their actions on social media, Arlington residents notified the Arlington Police Department (APD) and the Arlington Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and headed out into town to remove the posters from view.
The AHRC reached out the APD and the ADL to report the incident. According to Chief Flaherty, APD officers were actively out looking for and removing the posters around town. The ADL also informed the AHRC about a similar incident in East Boston that same weekend. As of the end of the weekend, three individuals associated with this postering were arrested on unrelated charges.
While the posters were only up for a short period of time, it is disturbing to see this kind of hateful messaging in person in our community. The AHRC commends the quick action of the people of Arlington who spotted the posters and then actively removed them. We are grateful to the APD and the ADL for their quick response and partnership in the fight against hatred and bigotry in all forms. There is much work to be done and the AHRC looks forward to continuing a successful partnership together in this work.
While there may be nothing illegal about this postering, the messages conveyed by this hate group do not reflect the feelings of the people of Arlington. If you would like to purchase a Hate Has No Home Sign or car magnet to counter this type of hateful message, please reach out to the AHRC at ahrc@town.arlington.ma.us