People who displayed a “Keep New England White” banner from a highway overpass in 2022 did not violate state law because they did not appear to know they were trespassing, New Hampshire’s top court has ruled.
New Hampshire law RSA 354-B:1 states in part that one violates the rights of others when they inflict damage, threaten to inflict damage, or trespass on property “when such actual or threatened conduct is motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability.”
State officials said in complaints that the people who unfurled the banners, including the “Keep New England White” banner, on July 30, 2022, in Portsmouth violated the law because their actions were motivated by race and interfered with the lawful activities of others….