#MiddleburyCT #Zoombomb #BoardOfSelectmen
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
Those attending the August 18 Board of Selectmen meeting, whether in person or via Zoom, found out firsthand what it’s like when a meeting is zoombombed. Zoombombing occurs when malicious individuals disrupt a public Zoom meeting. They join the meeting and then interrupt the meeting using inappropriate language and images that are vulgar, racist and/or pornographic.
The meeting had been in session for about 13 minutes, and action on updating the town’s emergency contingency plan for electors had reached the point that First Selectman Edward B. St. John asked, “Any discussion?” A male voice responded using an expletive and a racist term. He continued to use vulgar language. At one point he said what sounded like, “Raphael Munez has hacked this meeting. Shut it down. Shut it down.”
He kept repeating his name and said, “All your data has been leaked” (not sure what he meant). Then his “accomplice,” who he said was named Sal, joined the conversation saying, “We know all your addresses.” Between such statements, “Raphael” was making racist remarks.
What those of us in the meeting couldn’t see due to the way the Zoom participants appear on the screen in the conference room was the video content that accompanied their statements. Those who did see it reported it included swastikas and sexually explicit material.
As “Raphael” continued to talk, St. John’s executive assistant, Liana St. Germain, was doing her best to stop the man. When we spoke to her August 20, she said she initially muted him, but he kept coming back. She said she then removed him. “I had to do that twice before they gave up,” she said. The meeting then proceeded without further incident.
St. Germain said she consulted Russell Blair of the Connecticut Freedom of Information office on the steps she could take to keep Zoombombers from disrupting future meetings. She said the situation is complicated by the fact that a public meeting needs to be readily accessible to anyone who wants to join via Zoom.
During the meeting, resident Don Andrews had suggested possibly using a waiting room. However, it’s likely that would require another person monitoring the waiting room. It’s possible the only solution may be to mute all who are attending and ask them to raise their hands when they want to speak.
Middlebury is not the only Connecticut town to get Zoombombed. An AI inquiry on Zoombombing in the state brought up the following cases in most of which arrests were made for Zoombombing.
- Westport Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting: A sexual video interrupted a meeting, leading to the cancellation of public hearings for two major projects. The incident was being investigated by the Westport police.
- Madison High School Class Interruption: A Connecticut teen was charged with computer crimes after disrupting online classes with obscene language and gestures.
- Newtown High School Class Interruption: A juvenile was arrested for taking over a high school class through Zoom and using hate speech and vulgar language.
- Monroe Town Budget Hearing: A 12-year-old boy from Idaho was arrested for Zoom bombing a town budget hearing, acquiring the content and Zoom link from an online group.
- Daniel Hand High School Class Interruption: A Connecticut teenager was arrested for “Zoom bombing” virtual classes held by staff at Daniel Hand High School.
