FTP BEHIND ‘CARD’ PLAY
Fliers glued to councilors’ houses criticized as ‘vandalism’
Police are investigating the “vandalism” of eight city councilors’ houses as a leftwing group that’s steadily ramped up its actions continues to take credit for pasting “report cards” on their property.
The group For The People, or FTP Boston, provided a statement touting that it had “installed 225 report cards” Friday night. Some of those were on or around the homes of the eight councilors who voted to pass the city’s budget last week, while others were on train and bus stations. The report cards from the group generally panned the records of those councilors.
“We installed the report cards at their homes so they understand the ramifications of this budget,” FTP member Garnet Andrews said in the statement. “If policing our communities is such an easy thing to accept living in lavish homes then they won’t mind FTP keeping them accountable.”
Boston Police said there’s an active investigation into the vandalism, and no arrests have been made.
The group says its initials stand for “For The People,” there’s a longstanding use of the same initials to mean “(expletive) the police.” The usage of that phrase goes back decades, and has been chanted at various protests against police brutality in the area over the past month.
In response to multiple requests for comment on Tuesday, FTP said its members are “currently unavailable for interviews.”
The group began posting on social media June 6. Its leadership and membership are somewhat unclear. Before a June 17 town hallstyle meeting attended by several city councilors — some of whom were yelled at and cursed at by the hosts — an emailed invitation to the event described the organization as “composed of 20 Black and Brown youths.”
The group’s mission statement reads, “We are committed to facilitating the divestment and abolition of systems that are actively harmful and oppressive to Black, Brown, and low-income communities. Reallocating those funds and resources towards building equitable and restorative programs across the city will push towards a better future for Boston and globally.”
The group has intensified its aggressiveness in the month since it formed. After first holding a protest focusing on a 10% cut to the city’s $414 million police budget — a position that’s since been adopted by a majority of the City Council — there was the contentious town hall. Then two weeks ago, the group took credit for showing up at Mayor Martin Walsh’s Dorchester home around dawn on a Sunday, chanting their displeasure about his budget, which included a lower $12 million cut.
After the 8-5 vote a week ago, FTP members hit the councilor’s houses with the fliers and adhesive, according to their statement and tweets.
Council President Kim Janey, one of the votes against the budget, and Walsh both called the actions “vandalism” and said that’s “unacceptable.”