On Saturday, Sept. 10, at approximately 6 p.m., the Saugus Police Department received multiple complaints about a hateful and false message on a banner that several men who had their faces covered with masks were holding across Route 1.
Saugus Police determined that the men were not breaking laws despite the hateful subject of their message.
While the First Amendment protects one’s legal right to speech, the Saugus Police Department condemns the hateful messages displayed in our community and we condemn antisemitism and hate in all its forms.
Saugus Police notified the Anti-Defamation League of New England about the incident, and would like to share the message released as a result by Robert Trestan, ADL New England Regional Director. The Saugus Police Department stands with its partners in the ADL.
“On September 11, a day when we remember a great tragedy experienced by our country and the loss of too many, a number of highway overpasses in our Commonwealth were tarnished with antisemitic banners, held by cowardly masked extremists, blaming these terrorist attacks on Jews,” Trestan said. “The scapegoating of the Jewish community is an age-old but exceedingly harmful antisemitic trope that must be called out and condemned whenever and wherever it occurs. Using this tragedy to spread false, destructive and divisive narratives harms our communities and sense of security and disgraces the memory of the victims from that day. Join us in condemning these activities and in recommitting ourselves to upholding our community values of justice.”