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Matthews leaders approve changes to public comments at town meetings

The town of Matthews called the Feb. 26 incident "zoom bombing" and indicated similar actions had been observed at other public meetings across the country.

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Matthews town leaders met Tuesday to address derogatory outbursts at a recent commissioners meeting. 

Last Monday, multiple people spoke unfounded and degrading claims against multiple demographic groups at the Matthews Board of Commissioners meeting; some of the language was discriminatory against people of the Jewish faith. It lasted for nearly 30 minutes and included debates between commissioners on whether the speakers' microphones should be turned off. 

On Tuesday, the board discussed and approved three changes to the public comment section:

  • Remove the Zoom public comment option.
  • Codify that citizens must state their name and address during rules and procedures. 
  • Remove the written public comment option. 

Jeff Turk lives in Matthews and is satisfied to see town leaders take action.

“I'm really glad that the town council took action tonight to at least try to eliminate having meetings bombarded with hate speech," Turk told WCNC Charlotte. 

Some commissioners argued public comment speeches are free speech protected by the First Amendment. The meeting eventually resumed in-person and virtually, where it was being live-streamed on YouTube.

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The next day, the town of Matthews released a statement addressing what occurred during the meeting.

"Several individuals caused a disruption by spewing reprehensible hate speech that was anti-semitic, homophobic, racist, and sexist," the statement reads in part. "These individuals participated via the Zoom option and did not show their faces and presumably used fake names."

The town of Matthews called the incident "zoom bombing" and indicated similar actions had been observed at other public meetings across the country.

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"The Matthews Town Board was required to allow the comments to continue because members of the public are permitted to comment on any topic during the public comment portion of the meeting," the statement continues. "The words spoken during the public comment period were also protected as free speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution."

The town's policy is to allow five minutes for each public comment, according to the statement. This prevented town leaders from muting microphones before the five minutes had ended. 

Questions surround the First Amendment and protecting it for citizens with the changes.

Matthews Mayor John Higdon is confident community members can still reflect their thoughts and opinions.

"Anybody can come under the rules that we have adopted now can come and stand at the podium where the attorney was and speak about whatever they want for five minutes with no restriction?" Higdon said. "So they have absolutely their First Amendment rights are protected."

“What we heard was disgusting and my heart broke for those who had to sit and listen to it," Mayor Pro Tem Gina Hoover said in the statement. "I would have loved to shut it down, but we have to stand by the Constitution and allow them their right to speak. I sincerely apologize to anyone who was affected by this deeply upsetting event."

The changes will go into effect at the next town council meeting.

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