Local LGBTQ business owners receive Nazi hate mail

pWATERTOWN — Just days after a local man posted threatening Facebook posts, a local business owner and LGBTQ activist received a letter from a nationally known Nazi group./ppSeth Hill, co-owner of the Tarot Cafe in the Franklin Building, received the letter from New Order, a Milwaukee, Wis. neo-Nazi group, espousing the cultural and historic contributions by white people./pp“This is a targeting thing,” Mr. Hill said about the letter./ppA couple of other local businesses with gay owners also received the letter./pp“There is a lot of talk these days about Black pride, Jewish pride, Hispanic pride — even ‘gay’ pride” according to the letter. “In fact, there is only one major segment of the population which is not encouraged to take pride in its heritage and in the achievements of its ancestors. That group is the White race.”/ppIt comes on the heels of a local man who posted on Facebook that he called for a mass shooting after hearing local LGBTQ activists were celebrating Gay Pride Month with a flag raising at City Hall on June 22 and several other events that weekend./ppMr. Hill believes that the Facebook posting and the letter from the New Order are tied together. The Nazi group probably heard about what happened with the Facebook posting and wanted to send their message about white supremacy./pp“It’s 2019 and we’re getting Nazis,” he said. “It’s crazy.”/ppThe Nazi group knew how to get their message out without breaking any laws, Mr. Hill said./pp“They didn’t do anything illegal,” he said./ppMr. Hill believes the group was just trying to scare local Gay Pride activists from taking part in next weekend’s events./pp“It’s not scaring me,” he said. “It’s making me want to do more.”/ppCity Councilman Ryan Henry Wilkinson, whose aunt, Nancy Henry, is involved in organizing the Gay Pride events, promised he’ll support his LGBTQ neighbors./pp“I’ll be out there hoisting that flag on Saturday,” he said./ppMr. Hill runs the Tarot Cafe with his boyfriend, Sexton G. Reese./ppThe New Order calls its members “heirs” of Adolf Hitler who support an all-white society. /ppSocial media sites have taken down a New Order blog for its racist content./ppOn June 2, Watertown resident Donnie Lee Barrigar called for a mass shooting after hearing that a Gay Pride celebration was going to be held in Watertown. /ppPolice determined it was not a serious threat. Facebook removed his account. No charges have been filed against him./ppBut Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo weighed in on the man’s Facebook posting, asking state police to assist local authorities in prosecuting the man to the fullest extent of the law. /ppIn Boston, a group plans to hold a White Pride parade on the same weekend that LGBTQ groups will celebrate Gay Pride./ppThe month of June was chosen for LGBTQ Pride Month to commemorate the Stonewall riots, which occurred following police raids at a Greenwich Village bar on June 28, 1969. /p