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Residents Report Racist Flyers

Fiona Saunders was headed out for her morning coffee on Jan. 9 when she spied a flyer at the end of her driveway weighed down in a sandwich bag. Inside the bag was a recruitment leaflet from the New England Nationalist Social Group, a group the Anti-Defamation League classifies as a neo-Nazi group with chapters primarily focused in New England.

The flyers were distributed throughout various neighborhoods, evoking shock, anger, and defiance from some Old Saybrook residents.

At first, Saunders thought she was the only person targeted but soon discovered other neighborhoods around town had received the racist and homophobic flyers.

“I know several people who are obviously very upset. These flyers and what was written on them are just foul,” said Saunders.

Beyond Old Saybrook, residents in the town of Newington also received flyers from the same group over the same weekend, according to reporting from WFSB.

In speaking with the Harbor News, Saunders said she didn’t want to give the group the publicity it obviously wanted, but she also wanted to spread the word about the danger of the group.

“Parents need to be aware of this. The founder of this group is a man in his early 20s who is very internet savvy. Parents need to be aware they are targeting young men and trying to recruit,” said Saunders. “These groups have become emboldened.”

Saunders said she reported the incident to the Old Saybrook Police Department.

Old Saybrook First Selectman Carl Fortuna was clear in his message to the persons responsible for distributing the flyers.

“Organizations with a hate message have no place in Old Saybrook,” Fortuna said. “This is clearly a fringe group that needs to know their message is pathetic.”

Saunders said that she is unaware of any confirmed community response, nor did Fortuna say one is planned. However, Saunders said she hopes that fellow residents are prepared to fight back and stand in solidarity against the ideology represented by the flyers.

“We all may be called to stand up, and we need to tell these people they are not getting a foothold here,” said Saunders.

“If your group needs to recruit at night, under cover of darkness, by throwing rock-filled sandwich bags in random people’s driveways, there is a problem with the message your group is trying to sell,” Saunders continued. “You know it will be unpopular, but you are hoping to find that one person, in that one driveway, that your message of hate will resonate with. I think, in Old Saybrook, this group will have a harder time finding that one person, and I’m proud of that.”