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Neo-Nazis demonstrate in NH, police investigating physical altercation
Members of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe displayed swastikas and a banner that read "Trump loves Epstein" outside the New Hampshire State House.
An organized group of neo-Nazis gathered near the New Hampshire State House in Concord last weekend, in an organized demonstration that coincided with local anti-Trump protests. A group of masked individuals waved flags with swastikas while displaying a banner that read “Trump loves Epstein.”
Their presence drew the ire of locals, and video surfaced online that appeared to show members of the neo-Nazi group engaging in a physical altercation with another man.
A group known as Blood Tribe took credit for the demonstration and have posted about it continuously in the days since on the social media platform X. Other accounts, including one dedicated to documenting Nazi activity in New England, also documented the demonstration. Blood Tribe members appear to have filed out of a U-Haul van, marched to the State House, and can be seen performing Nazi salutes while standing in a row.
Videos posted online by onlookers and by the Blood Tribe members themselves appear to show a physical altercation. A man in a black shirt can be seen following the group down the street as they chant “heil Hitler” and other Nazi slogans.
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After shouting at the Blood Tribe members, the man can be seen grappling and exchanging punches with multiple members of the group. Later, a Blood Tribe member can be seen using what appears to be pepper spray on the man as he continues to grapple with members of the group.
The New Hampshire Department of Justice said in a statement that it is “actively monitoring the ongoing investigation into the incident by the Concord Police Department,” and that the office’s Civil Rights Unit will be ready to assist Concord PD should investigators there request support.
Representatives from Concord PD did not return requests for comment Tuesday.
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“There is no place for hate groups or their repugnant and disgusting ideology in New Hampshire,” Gov. Kelly Ayotte said in a statement.
The neo-Nazi incursion occurred as the NH 50501 movement staged a rally protesting the Trump administration’s policies.
“You know you’re on the right side of history when the f***ing Nazi’s show up to counter protest,” that group said in an Instagram post alongside an image of the Blood Tribe members.
In a press release, NH 50501 said that its members encountered about 18 neo-Nazis. Organizers joined volunteers to “ensure their safety and provide support” and worked to maintain the “integrity of the event.” The group said that it drowned out the Blood Tribe demonstration at the State House, prompting the neo-Nazis to leave.
“The presence of Nazis at the capital was not only unsolicited but directly counter to everything our movement stands for,” NH 50501 said. “While we have no contact with this group, we are certain their actions were intended to disrupt our peaceful assembly.”
NH 50501 members received reports and reviewed footage of the physical altercation. But it did not engage with Blood Tribe after they left the State House, and NH 50501 has no information about the altercation, the group said.
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A spokesperson for U-Haul told The Boston Globe that the company received videos and photos showing the vehicle being misused by the neo-Nazis.
“It is extremely dangerous, illegal and a breach of our rental agreement to transport people in the cargo area of our equipment,” a spokesperson told the Globe in a statement. “The customer on this rental contract has been identified and can no longer rent from us.”
In a post on X, Blood Tribe said that it follows local laws when demonstrating.
“We are there to give speeches and march, not brawl, but we are ready to fully defend ourselves when necessary,” the neo-Nazi group said.
Who are the neo-Nazis?
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Blood Tribe was founded in 2022 by a former Marine and tattoo artist named Chris Pohlhaus. While living in Texas, Pohlhaus grew an online group of white supremacists and neo-Nazis through a network of chats called “The Camps” dating back to at least 2020.
Pohlhaus moved to Maine in 2022 and attempted to establish a “white supremacist enclave” there. The SPLC says it worked to expose Pohlhaus’s operation there and publicly identified the parcels of land he bought for the project in a small town called Springfield, north of Bangor. After encountering resistance from locals, Pohlhaus sold the property and abandoned the project.
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The group staged its first public demonstration in 2023, and has since held rallies in a variety of states, including Tennessee, Ohio, South Dakota, and Pennsylvania.
Blood Tribe played a significant role in spreading racist conspiracy theories about Haitian migrants in Ohio eating pets last year, according to the SPLC and George Washington University’s Program on Extremism. The unsubstantiated claims eventually gathered so much momentum in right-wing circles that President Trump repeated them during a nationally televised debate before election day.
In February, the Anti-Defamation League filed a civil lawsuit against Blood Tribe, alleging the group was responsible for “a months-long campaign of harassment and intimidation” against residents and officials in the city of Springfield, Ohio. After Blood Tribe amplified conspiracies about an “invasion” of Haitian migrants, more than 30 bomb threats were reported in Springfield. Elementary schools, government buildings, and private residences were all targeted, according to the plaintiffs. That case is still pending in U.S. District Court.
Blood Tribe members can be identified by distinctive red and black clothing that often bears runes associated with Nazism. They “adhere to various Norse Pagan and esoteric neo-Nazi ideologies that praise Adolf Hitler as a deity,” according to GWU. The group wants to turn America into “an all-white ethnostate through the violent removal of all Jews and non-white minorities.”
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