Two men cited for posting white nationalist flyers in East Providence appear in court
Mark ReynoldsEAST PROVIDENCE — Two men accused of violating East Providence city code by hanging white nationalist recruiting flyers on utility poles appeared in District Court, Providence, on Tuesday morning for their arraignment on obstruction charges.
Both Stephen Farrea, 32, of Portsmouth, and Austin Conti, 26, of Warwick, were charged with obstruction after they refused to provide identification to police on June 21, according to East Providence police.
Previously:In East Providence, experts say, neo-Nazis trying to recruit were not anonymous this time
On Tuesday, the two men, who police say were posting flyers for the white Nationalist Social Club 131, found themselves in front of District Court Judge Melissa DuBose.
They were arraigned one by one and appeared alone without lawyers.
DuBose told each of them she would enter a not-guilty plea on their behalf.
She released them on personal recognizance. They are scheduled to reappear in court on Aug. 10.
Farrea and Conti were among five men who encountered East Providence police after someone alerted authorities to some men near the Silver Spring School. At the time, the men were trespassing on the property of The Gordon School, according to a police report.
Farrea and Conti told police they had fastened flyers to utility poles, the report says.
At one point, it says, Conti represented himself as a spokesman for the men as police questioned them in late June.
The arrest of the two men preceded a wave of flyer activity by the Nationalist Social Club in Rhode Island over the Independence Day weekend.
Earlier this year:Carrying Nazi flag, protesters disrupt reading of 'The Communist Manifesto' in Providence
What is NSC-131?:Neo-Nazi group getting bigger, more active, says anti-hate group
On Tuesday, DuBose clarified that Conti no longer lives in Arizona, as authorities had initially announced.
He told her he lives in Warwick.
Conti has numerous tattoos, including a circular marking on his elbow and triceps that's a variant of a "Black Sun" symbol.
The tattoo, which was visible in court, incorporates sig runs similar to those employed by the Nazi SS. It strongly resembles a neo-Nazi symbol that has been noted by the Anti-Defamation League.
Conti and Farrea declined to comment to The Providence Journal after their arraignment.