Boston, MA, September 4, 2007 … Andrew H. Tarsy, Anti-Defamation League (ADL) New England Regional Director, today issued the following statement after Hingham Police charged two alleged white supremacists, Eric Jeremy Snow and James Scott Winquist, with the murder of two homeless men in 2005. 

We commend the Hingham Police and the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office for their relentless pursuit of these two members of the so-called "Brotherhood of Blood." These home-grown Aryan supremacy groups are a growing menace in this area, in some cases becoming more dangerous than the better known national hate groups. As the charges filed in Hingham District Court attest, they have been linked to vicious acts of violence.

In this case, William P. Chrapan and David P. Lyons were beaten to death with bats and their bodies were left to decompose. The suspects allegedly cut off Chrapan's right hand to use as a souvenir and bragged about their crimes.

ADL keeps a close eye on hate groups, and we have seen a reprehensible tendency to target those on the margins of society, such as the homeless, with the expectation that the authorities will lose interest in investigating the crime. The Hingham Police Plymouth County District Attorney's Office have sent a powerful message that law enforcement agencies will not rest until they bring the perpetrators of such outrages to justice.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.