(ABC 6 News) — A “Break the Hate” community forum was held on Saturday by the Rochester branch of the NAACP, Office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Barbershop Talk at 125 Live on Saturday.

After several incidents of hate in the Rochester, the Rochester NAACP and other local organizations are fighting back — sending a message that hate has no place in the community.

The forum Saturday aimed to educate people on how to break the hate in our community, and featured guest speaker Christian Picciolini, who is an anti-hate activist.

Picciolini was recruited into a neo-Nazi group at just 14 years old and left it when he was 22. He has spent the last 30 years trying to help others leave hate groups, educate others and atone for his actions while in the group.

Picciolini said these groups prey on vulnerable people, and he said it was not the hate that drew him in — it was the sense of belonging and community.

“There are three things that are really important that attract people to hate groups. It’s a sense of identity, community, and purpose. Those are things that everybody looks for in life,” Picciolini said.

So to break the hate, he is helping communities like Rochester find solutions to these problems, like creating positive spaces where people can find a place they belong.

The Rochester Branch of the NAACP said there would be more events like this one in the near future.