Nativist political party linked to neo-Nazi hate group
The only publicly identified member of the New England National Party previously represented the People's Initiative for New England, a campaign launched by the neo-Nazi hate group NSC-131.
Earlier this month, Terese Bastarache, the Christian nationalist leader of We the People NH, shared an anti-immigrant meme on her group’s Facebook page that featured a list of New England facilities it claimed are “housing or suspected of housing illegal immigrants.”
The inflammatory meme was created by the New England National Party (NENP), a nativist group that launched earlier this year and whose mission is to become a regional political party “rooted in nationalist and populist ideals.”
When I browsed through the group’s social media posts, a promotional photo that the group had posted on Twitter caught my eye. With a corner of the group’s business card stuck in a weathered wood post in the foreground, and a lush, soft-focus lake scene in the background, it was remarkably similar to a photo posted two years ago promoting the People’s Initiative of New England (PINE).
‘A Nazi wolf in MAGA clothing’
PINE was launched in April 2023 by the Nationalist Social Club, a New England-based neo-Nazi, white supremacist group also known as NSC-131. In an announcement message posted on Telegram, NSC-131 wrote that PINE would allow the group to broaden its membership and reach “by articulating our worldview in a more traditional political manner.”
Rolling Stone described PINE, which was active for about a year, as “a Nazi wolf in MAGA clothing.” In an online manifesto, PINE called for the creation of a white ethnostate in New England and an end to non-white immigration, but in contrast to NSC-131, it ditched the neo-Nazi rhetoric and imagery, welcomed women to its ranks, and interacted with the public in a less threatening manner.
The man behind the curtain
NENP has a polished website and an active social media presence that includes accounts of members gathering at public rallies, but nowhere does it disclose the names of the individuals behind the group. Instead, it uses generic terms like “staff writer” and “spokesperson” to refer to those who presumably lead the organization.
The single exception is a news article on the website that is authored by Adam Hart, which describes him as “a Connecticut resident, political activist throughout New England, and associate of the New England National Party.” Hart has also represented the group in a Twitter Spaces discussion with CT Coalition 4 US, a Connecticut-based grassroots advocacy group that lists him as the NENP contact on its coalition partners webpage.
A Twitter profile with the display name Adam Hart describes him as a NENP “contributor” and includes a link to the group’s website. And there is evidence suggesting that Hart is an admin on the NENP Facebook page. On April 5, he posted a video on Twitter that he recorded at an Indivisible rally that day in Stamford. Two hours later, the NENP Facebook admin posted the same video and described the action, writing, “I was asked to stop recording by his umbrella holder.”
‘I was called a Nazi’
Two tweets from Hart are particularly intriguing, given the possible PINE connection.
Writing in support of a Maine political candidate, Hart wrote, "Had enough Maine? I’ve stood before your legislature and seen their utter disregard and contempt for you all." In a separate conversation regarding support for transgender children, he wrote, “This sort of thing is state sanctioned in Maine. I was called a Nazi for advocating against it.”
The messages called to mind the 2024 appearance by a PINE representative who testified in a Maine legislative committee hearing. The testimony before the Maine Joint Standing Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services, first reported by Andy O’Brien, came in opposition to LD 227, legislation that offered protections for gender-affirming health care.
Video from the hearing captures the testimony. The speaker began his speech with an introduction: "My name is Adam, and I am a volunteer for the People's Initiative of New England." The committee had announced his name as Adam Smith. Could Adam Smith be Adam Hart?
Berkshire Raggie
The Adam Hart Twitter account was created on January 11, 2025. His first post, “Well, I’m back,” suggested that he had tweeted previously from a different account. Searching through threads from 2024 by those who regularly traded messages with Hart, I found an account with the handle @BerkeshireRaggie that was referenced in the thread but no longer exists on Twitter.
(Raggie is a slang term used for economically disadvantaged whites, often of old Yankee stock, who live in northwestern Connecticut. The name comes from Mount Riga in Salisbury, also known as "Mt. Raggie.")
I then searched the Internet Archive Wayback Machine for archived messages from the account, which was active from April to December 2024, and discovered that the display name on the account was indeed Adam Smith. A cursory search through the Adam Smith tweets produced dozens of messages with biographical information and other content linking the account to the Adam Hart account. The final tweet on December 10, 2024, was: “See you all next year Twitter people.”
The tweets show that he was developing plans for a national political party months before its 2025 launch. On August 13, 2024, he announced that he intended to leave the Republican Party because it did not share his values. A few hours later, he posted a meme with the words “Come Home” superimposed over a picturesque New England scene—the same theme seen in subsequent NENP memes—with the message, “Plans are being formulated.” In a separate message, he wrote, “A new political party that operates with nationalist principles would not be tinkering, it would be revolutionary.”
Several of the Adam Smith tweets express support for NSC-131. “Nazis are silly,” he wrote in one message, “but definitely not enemies if you’re right wing.” He posted an image of an NSC-131 protest, likely taken from the group’s Telegram page, writing that Mainers should “learn from their example.” In another post, he rejected calling NSC-131 white supremacists, claiming the term white nationalists is more accurate, “since their main interest is in keeping the country a white majority and ideally making it a white super majority once again.”
‘I’m a tradesman’
With more than 6,000 posts in just four months from the Adam Hart account alone, the messages create a detailed breadcrumb trail that offers numerous clues to his identity. He described himself as a 35-year-old pipefitter/gas technician, homeschooled until high school, and now living in northwest Connecticut. He wrote that he is of German descent, with four generations of his family buried in Hartland, Connecticut, including a grandfather who guarded German prisoners of war during World War II.
A comprehensive web search failed to find either an “Adam Smith” or an “Adam Hart” who might match that description, so I broadened my search. I began by using the State of Connecticut license lookup to identify all of the state’s residents named Adam who have a Pipefitter License. After identifying a potential match, I then worked to confirm the personal details included in his description.
The state voter registration lookup confirmed his age and town of residence; a bankruptcy petition confirmed his employment and personal details; an essay written by his father and published in a historical society newsletter confirmed the details of four generations of family history; and his mother’s obituary confirmed that he had been homeschooled.
And then I found his photo on his church’s Facebook page, a photo that matches the image of Adam Smith from the Maine legislative committee hearing. (I’m withholding his last name.)
‘Help anonymously’
With the move to create a nationalist political party with broader appeal, Adam now counsels white nationalists to abandon the neo-Nazi symbols and rhetoric—or at least keep them under wraps.
He recently clashed online with Ryan Murdough, New Hampshire’s most prominent and unapologetic neo-Nazi, after Murdough posted public comments on a fundraising page for Shiloh Hendrix—the Rochester, Minnesota woman accused of using a racial slur against a Black child.
On her fundraising page, Murdough had identified himself as the founder of the New England White Network and invited Hendrix to move to New England to join “a pre existing network of racially aware White families.”
“You don’t understand white people at all do you?” Adam wrote. “Be silent and offer financial support to this woman, and please try not to leave retarded comments on her donation page. It isn’t about you.”
“Wignats are one of the greatest obstacles there are for white people,” Adam added, using a derogatory term for neo-Nazi white nationalists. “You are literally a neo nazi, you can’t help anybody. … Help anonymously, and leave the talking to normal people.”