Bangor city councilors silenced an unknown individual after he delivered antisemitic, racist and homophobic statements via Zoom during the public comment portion of Monday’s council meeting.
The person, who used several Zoom accounts to continue his hateful message, falsely linked the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, to a Jewish conspiracy, among other fictitious and malicious claims. The interruption came on the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Three councilors — Cara Pelletier, Dina Yacoubagha and Clare Davitt — condemned the statements after the offender was quickly silenced.
“The City Council will not entertain any sort of hate speech,” Councilor Cara Pelletier said. “Whether you’re online, in person or sending flyers to city council members, you’re barking up the wrong tree. That’s not what this council stands for, so take it somewhere else.”
Davitt applauded Pelletier’s statement and said the City Council may disagree on any number of things, but it stands unified in its intolerance of racism, antisemitism, homophobia or any other hateful comments targeting minorities.
“Last night’s cowardly caller who spewed antisemetic hate is an example of how, while we can say there’s no place for hate in Maine, we know it’s here,” Davitt said in a statement Tuesday. “It is incumbent upon elected officials and others in leadership positions to speak out to condemn it whether it be anti-semetisim, homophobia, or white nationalism.”
Yacoubagha said Sept. 11 should be an occasion in which the community comes together to remember those who died in the 2001 terrorist attacks rather than being a platform for hatred that tears people apart.
Public meetings attendees have two ways to offer public comments: in-person or via Zoom. If people wish to speak over Zoom, city staff will enable their microphone when they’re called upon, which means staff also has the ability to quickly silence them if their remarks are inappropriate.
“Council Chair Fournier makes it very clear at the opening of the public comment period that individuals making inappropriate or offensive remarks will not be allowed,” City Manager Debbie Laurie said. “We will continue to use the features available to ensure our meetings remain accessible to the public but are prepared to address inappropriate or offensive remarks.”
This is the first time a Bangor public meeting has fallen victim to “Zoom-bombing” — when public meeting guests disrupt or take control of the meeting to share hate speech or pornographic images. The issue became more widespread when the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent gathering restrictions forced governing bodies to conduct all public meetings online.
Bangor councilors were also mailed flyers containing white nationalist messages in April, but it’s unknown who sent the materials, according to Davitt
Bangor isn’t the only community in Maine that has been subjected to hateful flyers and comments in public meetings targeting minorities.
Also on Monday evening, Hallowell’s city council meeting was interrupted by people yelling anti-semitic, homophobic and racial slurs, according to Hallowell City Councilor Maureen AuCoin.
In Portland, residents woke up on Monday to discover antisemitic flyers containing conspiracy theories that tie Jewish people to the Sept. 11 attacks, were dropped on porches throughout the city.
Portland and Augusta have also been the home of rallies held by neo-Nazi groups in recent months. One such organization is setting up a training facility near Lincoln.
Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified Maureen AuCoin, she is a city councilor in Hallowell.