***This story was updated at 8 p.m. with a joint statement from the town, police chief and public health director.
Police are investigating a racist and pornographic Zoombombing incident during the Board of Health’s hybrid meeting Monday evening.
During an in-person presentation by HAWC, written messages, drawings and video appeared on the Zoom screen several times before the Board recessed for 15 minutes and called police.
One message read, “Kill all n—–s.”
A police officer arrived and spoke with Public Health Director Anderw Petty. The meeting then resumed, undisturbed.
“I haven’t seen anything as graphic and hateful as this,” said BOH Chair Helaine Hazlett, who is also the co-chair of the Task Force Against Discrimination. “This person is a bigot.”
Petty explained that he could not simply shut off Zoom and continue the meeting in person because the Mary Alley Building is not ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant. That means public meetings held there must include a Zoom offering.
“Despite several attempts to remove the individual responsible for these acts from the meeting, they just kept coming back until we no longer could carry on with an agenda,” Petty said in the statement.
“The town of Marblehead, the Marblehead Police Department and the Board of Health unequivocally condemn the hateful comments made and acts displayed by the indivudual,” the statement also read. “We are a community that is inclusive to everyone, regardless of religion, race, color, ancestry, national originin or gender, and strive to maintain spaces for everyone to feel safe. That includes our public meetings, where openess 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.”
Rev. Jim Bixby with the Marblehead Racial Justice Team said the Zoombomb demands a strong response.
“Any death threats that are racially motivated like this are cause for high alarm and should not be treated lightly at all,” Bixby said.
“While what happens online cannot ever definitively be said to be local or nonlocal in terms of the actors perpetrating it, it nevertheless happened here in our community,” Bixby continued. “And that comes with a sense of responsibility for addressing it, confronting it and articulating the opposite, which is that this a place of welcome and safety, where inclusivity is what defines us, as opposed to hatred.”
Bixby had this message for people in town: “I encourage all Marbleheaders of whatever identities define you to stand up now in this moment and say that this stuff will not go on unconfronted.”
The town’s joint statement added: “This type of incident reminds us of the importance to defend those who are marginalized in our community as targets for racists and hate mongers. The town of Marblehead and all of the dpeartments and boards that serve our citizens will not stand idly by while individuals try to create fear. We will work together to plan for and react with determination to address it.”
In 2020, a School Committee meeting and a special education meeting were both Zoombombed with bigoted messages and images.
Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist.
