On Monday night, a council meeting in Matthews, N.C. was disrupted by “Zoom bombing,” a new trend in which trolls log in and disrupt video conference calls.
The Matthews Board of Commissioners stated that the folks who committed the act used racist, homophobic and antisemitic slurs during the teleconference.
One commenter said gay and transgender people are pedophiles. Another criticized DEI initiatives before someone chimed in to deny the Holocaust. Others accused Jewish people of being responsible for immigration issues as well as being child molesters. One even said she found herself “standing with the anti-Semites — people most of you would refer to as Neo-Nazis.”
Commissioners believe that the board meeting was deliberately targeted, but some town leaders believe that the Zoom bombers shouldn’t be censored: “Although we may not agree with him and we find what he says repulsive, you have no right to turn down the volume on this man.”
Commissioner Renee Garner disagreed with this sentiment.
“Whether I agree with him or not, the language that he used was offensive on every level. It doesn’t matter what the political situation is, what I believe or not, the language he was using was offensive,” Garner stated. “It was antisemitic, it was homophobic, it was transphobic, but most of all, it was disgusting.”
WSOC-TV reporter Joe Bruno shared details about the shocking incident on X/Twitter. “Matthews Town Board allows public forum via Zoom. Tonight numerous speakers, or one person using voice changing filters, had overtly anti semitic, homophobic, racist and sexist comments,” Bruno explained. “Some commissioners were furious and clearly uncomfortable.
“The public comments were extremely jarring. Commissioner Garner left and refused to listen. Commissioner Tufano scolded the town for muting a speaker & told commissioners they have to listen to the remarks no matter how vulgar they are. The next two speakers were anti semitic.”
This isn’t the first time Zoom bombing has happened at a council meeting. Similar incidents occurred during a Highland town council meeting in Chicago last year as well as with activists in Washington D.C.