Anacortes, WA – In a recent press release, the City of Anacortes spoke out against the people who have been ”zoom bombing” their city council meetings with antisemitic and racist comments.
Such an instance happened during the Cities Dec. 4 meeting when comments were made by people who signed up for public comment under assumed names.
“Of the words I heard, they were incredibly gross, obscene, nonsensical, hateful, false, antisemitic. They were terrible. And the law protects much of that speech,” said Mayor Miller. The City of Anacortes acted within the guidelines of the First Amendment and the Open Public Meeting Act which considers public comment at local government meetings a ‘limited public forum.’”
The first two speakers were allowed three minutes per policy, however, connections were muted once speakers began yelling racial slurs and anti-Semitic statements.
Officials say they will review public comment policies to decide how to best respond to the continuing hate speech.
“The City of Anacortes condemns these individuals and any associated group or organization for the harm caused by their speech,” said a spokesperson.
