DANBURY, CT—City leaders roundly condemned a group of masked white supremacists who held a brief protest outside police headquarters this weekend over a recent decision to allow immigrants to join the force.

Mayor Roberto Alves, a Democrat who championed the new officer hiring policy, said white supremacy is not welcome in Danbury. He described diversity as one of the city's greatest strengths.

"When American neo-Nazi's are against what we're doing, I know we're on the right side of history," Alves wrote in a Facebook post Monday.

The group was spotted standing outside police headquarters at the corner of Main and East Franklin streets Saturday night holding a banner reading "Keep New England White" and chanting "white power."

Erin Henry, a city spokesperson, said police only became aware of the demonstration after it ended. She said there were no interactions between any police officers and the dozen or so protestors.

The banner referred to the group as Northeast Action. According to the Counter Extremism Project, the group describes itself as a "pro-white, street-oriented fraternity dedicated to raising authentic resistance to the enemies of our people in the Northeast."

In a publicly accessible Telegram channel, the members said the demonstration was held after the City Council "voted to allow illegal immigrants to become police officers." They also cited Danbury's "massive demographic shift."

The City Council voted overwhelmingly in September to allow permanent legal residents and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients, known as Dreamers, to be hired as police officers.

The decision was made after Alves, who was elected to a second term last fall, argued that Danbury residents who are eligible to serve in the U.S. military or fire department should also be able to join the police department.

"(This) vote was about removing an unnecessary barrier for qualified people who already call Danbury home and want to serve their community," Alves said at the time.

The Connecticut Police Officer Standards & Training Council made changes to police hiring in 2020 and 2025 to expand hiring of state and municipal police officers to include permanent legal residents and DACA recipients.

Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour was among those that denounced the weekend rally. He said "rhetoric such as this should have no place in our society and certainly is not part of our department's mission and values."

"We are here to protect and serve everyone within our jurisdiction," he added. "We do not support or condone the actions of this group or of any individuals, groups, or organizations that promote hate or exclusion in this or any community."

Raghib Allie-Brennan, a state representative whose district includes Danbury and Bethel, pointed to the incident as an example of "white supremacy."

"Hiding behind masks while you try to intimidate your neighbors isn't strength. It's cowardice," he said.

Glenda Armstrong, president of the Danbury NAACP, said Monday the organization opened an investigation following the demonstration.

"The community is definitely concerned, we're gonna meet with city officials to see where we are," Armstrong said, adding that if the group came once, they could come again.

"My question is: why here, why now?" she said.

This story includes previous Hearst Connecticut Media Group reporting.

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