NBC10 Boston reporter Nia Hamm reports on three people arrested in connection with racist flyers posted around East Boston.
What to Know
- Boston police say officers patrolling East Boston Friday night saw three men wearing masks and posting racist fliers.
- Christopher Hood, Tylar Larson were both charged with carrying a dangerous weapon. They allegedly had a knife and brass knuckles.
- Matthew Wolf was charged with assault and battery on a police officer. Wolf allegedly slapped an officer's hand from seeing his ID card.
Three men accused of posting racist fliers around East Boston faced a judge on weapons and resisting arrest charges Tuesday.
Twenty-year-old Malden resident Christopher Hood, 18-year-old Rochester, New York, resident Tylar Larson and 26-year-old Lowell resident Matthew Wolf were arrested Friday night with the fliers in their hands, according to authorities.
About 50 fliers that said, "Keep America American. Report any and all illegal aliens. They are not immigrants. They are criminals. Call: 1-866-DHS-2ICE" had been posted around the neighborhood, which is known for its thriving immigrant community.
Police responded to East Boston Friday night after residents reported posters around the area that upset them. While patrolling the area, officers saw at least three men wearing masks. In court on Tuesday, prosecutors revealed that Hood, Larson and Wolf were with four other men, including one man from Brockton, one from Illinois, one from Maine and one other from Mississippi.
Officials approached the group to speak with them, but one of the men, identified as Wolf, was uncooperative. When officers reached for Wolf's identification card, he allegedly slapped the officer’s hand away.
Authorities also allegedly found a knife on Hood's person and brass knuckles in Larson's possession.
U.S. & World
Larson and Hood were charged with carrying a dangerous weapon while Wolf was charged with assault and battery on a police officer.
The names of the other men were not released because they were not charged.
The fliers came from a group called Patriot Front, a white supremacist organization. They did not respond to NBC10 Boston’s request for comment.
"There was one after another after another and there was a whole bunch of them all up and down Meridian Street and Maverick Square," Phil Haggerty, who took down some fliers said.
"This is our neighborhood," Haggerty said. "A lot of our neighbors are immigrants and I just think it's important we look out for each other. We didn’t really think too hard about it. We saw the message they were spreading and we knew it just didn’t have a place here."
In court, Wolf's attorney described his client as a National Guard veteran and software engineer with security clearance who has a "great deal to lose."
Bail for Wolf, Larson and Hood was reduced to $500 during their arraignment at East Boston District Court, but were ordered to stay away from Maverick Square. It's unclear if Larson has an attorney; Hood, who was represented by a court-appointed attorney on Tuesday, told the judge he's looking for a lawyer. He ran out of the courtroom after the arraignment without saying a word.
The next court date for Wolf, Larson and Hood is March 26.
