HAVERHILL — A local man is behind a white pride group's event organized for this weekend in Hudson, N.H.

Rob O'Donovan of Haverhill says the group, Northeast White Pride, is holding a "Close the Border" demonstration Saturday to protest illegal immigration. He says the group is not based on hate or white supremacy, but on having "pride" in white history.

"We reject the popular use of the term 'racists' or 'supremacists' as we don't hate anyone because of their cultural identity," O'Donovan wrote in an e-mail interview with The Nashua Telegraph. "We do, however, seek to protect our own cultural identity and heritage from being obscured by those of others, especially when those customs clash significantly with the morals and ethics of our American cultural heritage."

Hudson Chief Richard Gendron said police will patrol the area, and he doesn't foresee any problems. The same group demonstrated in Hudson two years ago.

Northeast White Pride's Web site has a post announcing Saturday's event and mentions Hudson police arrests of several illegal immigrants on trespassing charges in 2005. It also claims an influx of Hispanic immigrants to Nashua has led to an increase in "graffiti, crime and drugs."

O'Donovan said the protest is being held in Hudson rather than Nashua to avoid antagonizing immigrants "or provoking any type of argument or altercation.

"A town of mainly white, working-class Americans is much more open to express their dissatisfaction with our current immigration crises than those trapped in a city full of illegal immigrants who aid and support them," O'Donovan wrote.

Information from The Nashua Telegraph and The Associated Press was used in this report.