This story was originally produced by The Laconia Daily Sun. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Antisemitic graffiti and white supremacist posters were found Wednesday morning at the headquarters of the Belknap County Democratic Committee.
Swastikas and an antisemitic slur were spray painted on the side of the group's headquarters on Union Avenue, and posters for white nationalist groups and conspiracies were also glued to windows and doors of the building.
Belknap County Democratic Committee board officers believe the vandals targeted them because of their recent posts on social media in solidarity with the city's Jewish community and publicizing a Kristallnacht remembrance event last week. The graffiti, using a slur, labeled the committee "k— lovers."
The posters, which were removed by Laconia police, included conspiracy theories about Jewish people and Sept. 11, advertisements for a white nationalist group and imagery of a knife through a Star of David.
"This is a week after Kristallnacht,” Belknap County Democratic Committee Chair Johnna Davis said. “We're being targeted because we love our Jewish friends.”
Laconia police were called to the group's headquarters around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. Chief Matt Canfield said that, though no firm connection has been made, it is likely the vandalism is related to that found at the Laconia State School property earlier this fall that named a member of the city's Jewish community. Recruiting information for a neo-Nazi group using the identifier “2119” — a numeric alphabet for the acronym BAS, which stands for the Nazi slogan “Blood and Soil” — was found in the graffiti at both locations and in a flier for the “211 Crew” left outside a downtown apartment building at the end of October, according to Canfield.
According to Peggy Shukur, deputy regional director at the Anti-Defamation League, 2119 is a white supremacist group that began in Florida in December 2022.
“We're starting to see them show up more often in New England in the past few months,” Shukur said in an email to The Daily Sun.
Canfield confirmed an investigation is underway, and the Civil Rights Unit of the state Attorney General's Office as well as the FBI have been contacted.
"We stand strongly with our Jewish friends and will do everything to bring all law enforcement resources to bear to investigate any hate crime, including this one,” Canfield said.
Police presence increased at the State School and at Temple B’nai Israel after the graffiti in September. The Belknap County Democratic Committee has also been offered police protection and plans to increase security at their headquarters, where they said they will continue to hold meetings.
“The people who do this are domestic terrorists,” Mayor Andrew Hosmer told The Daily Sun. “They want to strike fear in you — not just our Jewish brothers and sisters, but anyone that disagrees with them.”
Hosmer said the city will remain united in support of its Jewish community.
“Our voices and our strength are and must remain greater than those who wish to terrorize us.”
Davis, Gilford Committee Chair Reva Tankle and Belknap County Democratic Committee Secretary Catharine Farkas, who first found the vandalism, said they felt it was a further escalation of past tagging found in the city. This incident came directly at a specific and partisan group and, unlike at the State School, their headquarters is in the center of town along a busy street.
Tankle said she hopes for even louder messages of solidarity against antisemitism in the community and for such graffiti to be taken seriously.
“There’s a real danger in being quiet about it,” Tankle said, criticizing people she had spoken to about past graffiti who downplayed it as isolated, attention-seeking acts by teenagers.
“People have to recognize these kinds of things can happen anywhere, they can happen here. And if you don’t speak up now, who’s going to speak up for you?” Tankle said, paraphrasing a famous poem about the Holocaust.
Another incident of potentially targeted antisemitism also took place Wednesday morning, against the same member of the city’s Jewish community named by the State School graffiti. Their identity has been kept private by city officials to protect their safety.
A pizza they did not order was delivered to their residence with an unusual and numerous mix of toppings, drastically increasing its price. It had not been paid for, and whoever called in the pizza order included the name and a description of the community member to whom it was delivered.
Laconia police have launched an investigation into that incident, Canfield said, though it is unclear whether it is connected to past or new graffiti.
The Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
While they are shaken, Davis, Farkas and Tankle said the graffiti will not hamper the group's advocacy.
"This is to intimidate people into not standing up and speaking out" about antisemitism, Tankle said. "It won't work."
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