Thousands of protesters march in Boston against a planned ‘Free Speech Rally’ just one week after the violent ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Virginia left one woman dead and dozens more injured on August 19, 2017 in Boston, United States. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
After a known neo-Nazi attempted to set up a training compound in Penobscot County last year, lawmakers heard testimony Monday on a bill that seeks to create stricter regulations to prevent paramilitary activity and “civil disorder.”
Christopher Pohlhaus, founder of the neo-Nazi white supremacist group Blood Tribe, moved to Maine in 2022 , purchased over 10 acres in Springfield and said he was building a training facility at the property. However, amid public outcry over Pohlhaus and Blood Tribe — which seeks to create a white ethnostate — Pohlhaus sold his land in October.
When news of Pohlhaus’ activity first broke, lawmakers pledged to take action. LD 2130 , sponsored by Rep. Laurie Osher (D-Orono), looks to address the issue of paramilitary groups by banning training in firearms and other weapons if a person knows the instruction is intended to create “civil disorder.” The bill defines civil disorder as a violent public disturbance by two or more people that causes immediate danger to the public or property or actual harm to the public or property.