New report shows rising level of hate in Massachusetts, with spike in anti-LGBTQ activity

Massachusetts had the country's sixth-highest rate of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault in 2022, according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League.

On top of that, the commonwealth had the nation's second-highest number of white supremacist propaganda distribution incidents, with 474 documented instances of distribution in 2022, according to the "Hate in the Bay State" report. And the state hasn't been immune to a surge in high-profile instances of anti-LGBTQ activity, either. In response, the ADL is calling on lawmakers to take action, like holding social media companies accountable for hate speech on their platforms and strengthening hate crime reporting and response.

Peggy Shukur, the interim regional director of ADL New England, said the numbers of antisemitic incidents, hate crimes and extremist activity have jumped up in New England in recent years. But the recent rise in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric was concerning.

"That spike is particularly troubling and really needs to be connected with the other types of hate and antisemitic incidents that we're seeing," she said.

The report highlighted harassment and threats aimed at Boston Children's Hospital following false narratives spread about the gender-affirming care provided at the facility.

Shukur said that while she couldn't directly tie the rise in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric to other hateful activities, groups like the neo-Nazi Nationalist Social Club 131, or NSC-131, are "equal-opportunity haters."

"[Our report] takes all of those strands of hate and puts it together so that we can see how broad and widespread this type of hate has become, particularly in New England, particularly in Massachusetts," she said.

Shukur said that one factor that makes Massachusetts a good target for hate groups is that they get a lot of attention when they gather in public, like at Boston Children's hospital last year or marching through downtown Boston. But she also pointed out that their influence doesn't necessarily correlate with their actual size.

In one incident she recalled from 2022, three masked men from NSC-131 hung an antisemitic banner over Route 114 in Danvers. That small group, she said, had an outsized influence.

"But I do like to point out that the community came out to reclaim that bridge," she said. "And several hundred people came in response to the three men who spread that fear and intimidation."

In a statement, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said the report puts on paper what far too many people have experienced.

"We stand with the LGBTQ+ community, Jewish community, communities of color, and all who are the targets of hate and discrimination," she said. "I'm grateful to the Anti-Defamation League and their partners for putting forward this important report and our administration is committed to being a strong partner in the work to combat hate in all of its forms."

With the rise in hateful incidents, Shukur said that she hopes that people know that a community response whenever a group is targeted is extraordinarily important.

"So raising awareness and letting people know that a community response is a really important action anybody can take is really a message I'd like to leave people with," she said.