Marblehead Police Chief Dennis King, Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer, and Director of Health Andrew Petty released a joint statement Tuesday evening in response to an incident during Monday’s hybrid Board of Health meeting where an individual was able to share racist and pornographic images through Zoom.
The incident, known as ‘Zoombombing,’ is a tactic for those to spread hate speech and symbols, most of the time to disrupt public meetings or agendas of a specific board. The images appeared toward the beginning of the meeting during a HAWC presentation.
The joint statement called the content involved in the Zoombombing “hateful, lewd, and lascivious” and condemned the acts.
“The Town of Marblehead, the Marblehead Police Department, and the Board of Health unequivocally condemn the hateful comments made and acts displayed by the individual,” the statement read. “We are a community that is inclusive to everyone, regardless of religion, race, color, ancestry, national origin, or gender, and strive to maintain spaces for everyone to feel safe. That includes our public meetings, where openness to views other than our own is often required. However, we do so with mutual respect, and not by taking over a meeting through technology and sharing racist words or sexual lewdness for all to view.”
Petty said in the statement that multiple attempts to remove the individual failed as they continued to come back into the meeting before the Board was forced to call a recess.
“Tonight was a valuable presentation and discussion on partner violence,” Petty said. “Our presenter from HAWC was able to provide much-needed insight on domestic violence in the town despite the interruptions.”
Police are investigating the incident to see if the party or parties responsible will be charged criminally.
“The right to free speech, even hateful speech, may be protected by the First Amendment. This protection is not without restrictions to time, place, and manner at a Public Meeting. Nor are the sexual acts depicted by the person responsible protected,” King said in the statement.
He also encouraged anyone with information related to the incident to come forward. King added, “We are working hard to identify the culprit)s) and hold them fully accountable for their actions.”
The statement concluded by emphasizing that such incidents remind us all how important it is to defend those who are marginalized in our community as targets for racists and hate mongers.
“The Town of Marblehead and all of the Departments and Boards that serve our citizens will not stand idly by while the individuals try to create fear. We will work together to plan for and react with determination to address it,” the statement read.