Crime

R.I. man affiliated with neo-Nazi group charged with possessing child pornography

Portsmouth resident Stephen Farrea has been linked to NSC-131, a New England neo-Nazi group known for targeting drag queen story hours.

By Abby Patkin

May 30, 2024

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email
• Email
• 91

A Rhode Island man affiliated with the Nationalist Social Club-131 — a New England neo-Nazi group known for hurling accusations of pedophilia during drag queen story hours — is now facing a child pornography charge.

Stephen Farrea, 34, of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, was arrested Friday and arraigned on one count of possessing child pornography, the Portsmouth Police Department said in a press release this week. 

The agency said it launched an investigation into Farrea on April 12 after receiving a tip that he “may be involved in the possession of child pornography.” Investigators subsequently obtained a search warrant for Farrea’s home and seized several electronic devices. A forensic analysis of those electronics revealed that Farrea possessed “images of sexually explicit conduct between minors,” police alleged. 

Farrea was arraigned at the Second Division District Court in Newport, where his bail was set at $5,000 with surety. Online court records indicate Farrea was ordered not to have any contact with minors and barred from using the internet, smartphones, or computers. He was also ordered to surrender any firearms.

Reached by phone Thursday, an attorney for Farrea declined to comment on his case. A hearing to modify Farrea’s bail conditions is set for June 4. 

Farrea was previously arrested in 2022 after he refused to identify himself to police while hanging white nationalist recruiting flyers in East Providence. He and another man eventually pleaded no contest and were ordered to perform 20 hours of community service. 

A former Marine Corps corporal, Farrea was discharged after activists leaked his online advocacy for white supremacy in 2019, The Boston Globe previously reported. According to the Globe, Farrea said in online chats that he became interested in white nationalism after reading about an Iraq War veteran who helped plan the controversial — and deadly — 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

The Globe described Farrea as an “anchor” for NSC-131’s presence in Rhode Island. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the organization “has targeted New England’s immigrant, LGBTQ+, and Jewish communities, as well as antifascist and other left-leaning activists.” 

NSC-131 leader Christopher Hood elaborated on that platform in a voice message shared to the group’s Telegram channel in September 2023, according to the SPLC.

“Obviously our government isn’t going to do anything about these invaders, or the drag queens, or antifa, or [Black Lives Matter],” Hood allegedly said. “This is in our hands. And the only thing that’s stopping us from eliminating these factions is us and our own inability to get with the program.”