Local News
The Tuesday night meeting never resumed after dozens of protesters chanting “ICE out of Worcester now” disrupted the council. One person was arrested.
Worcester City Council only heard about a half an hour of public comment Tuesday night before dozens of people disrupted the meeting to protest federal immigration authorities’ activity in their community.
Around 25 minutes into the public comment period, protesters marched into the City Council chamber, according to a city-streamed video of the meeting. Residents continued to chant, and officials called a recess. The meeting never resumed.
“No KKK, no fascist USA,” protesters chanted. “ICE out of Worcester now,” they continued. Many were masked, some wore keffiyehs, and others held signs that said “Due process now” and “No kings.”
Around a dozen protesters filed into the gallery at the council meeting in the Esther Howland Chamber at Worcester City Hall, but scores more stood in the hallway outside, according to a video of the demonstration posted by a reporter with the Telegram & Gazette.
More than 50 people were there protesting, and more than 25 police officers responded to the scene, GBH News reported.
Worcester City Manager Eric Batista called the assembly “unacceptable,” saying that inside City Hall “is not a place of public assembly.”
“I share in the public’s frustration of what is happening at the national level, but we cannot allow that to divide us,” Batista said in a statement Wednesday. “Instead, we must find real ways to collectively support one another and those impacted while continuing to focus on the core services that municipal government is responsible for.”
One person was arrested while protesters were “peacefully cleared from the building,” and is facing charges of disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, and vandalizing property, according to Batista. Worcester police did not respond to a request for comment and referred questions to Batista’s statement.
The arrest of an undocumented Worcester mother has incensed community members, prompting several protests. Her arrest grew chaotic as a crowd of neighbors attempted to stop U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from detaining the woman and Worcester police aggressively arrested two others.
Worcester City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj was at the scene of the ICE arrest; she is now facing charges of assaulting a police officer and interfering with a police officer. At the meeting Tuesday night, she silently thanked her supporters before leaving the chamber, GBH reported.
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