Leaders point to ‘disturbing’ comments on deadly DC rally
Current, former Republican council members condemned
WEST HARTFORD — In condemning the invasion of the U.S. Capitol last week, West Hartford leaders spotlighted current and former town council members for inflammatory rhetoric “that undermines democracy.”
Although they were not named in the joint statement by Mayor Shari Cantor and town council Minority Leader Lee Gold, the targets of the statement were current Republican council member Mary Fay and former GOP member Joe Visconti.
Fay said Monday, however, that any notion she was encouraging violence is false and “ridiculous.”
“I did nothing wrong,” she said. “I’m extremely disappointed in anyone, including Shari Cantor and Lee Gold, who is suggesting I support any violence. In America, and West Hartford, our constitution protects freedom of speech, the right to protest, and the right to support a candidate and political party of our choosing.”
Visconti could not be immediately reached.
“Words matter,” Cantor and Gold wrote in the statement to be read at the council’s meeting on Tuesday. “They have real impact and consequences — especially when they come from people in positions of power and influence. And these words have shaken the very foundations of the Republic. It is our responsibility and duty to protect democracy by holding those that threaten it accountable for their words and actions.
“We have received an outpouring of concern from residents who are horri
fied by what took place this past week and have shared disturbing social media content from some members of our own community,” Cantor and Gold wrote.
The “disturbing” content included Facebook posts by Visconti from the deadly Jan. 6. Washington, D.C., rally for President Donald Trump, who has claimed the election was rigged against him. Some of the thousands of people who gathered outside the Capitol forced their way inside the building, a violent incursion that led to several deaths.
Visconti also posted on Jan. 5 a photo of himself at the Mayflower Hotel “as I prepare for tomorrow’s Stop the Steal Rally,” to which Fay responded.
Fay wrote in a comment on the post, “Beautiful place. Love it! Kick ass Joe.”
Fay on Monday called her comment a figure of speech that she would use to wish good luck to any friend, and said she had no foreknowledge that any violence would occur.
“Throughout my life, I have always denounced violence in any form; in fact I posted as such right after our Capitol incident and expect the perpetrators to be held accountable to the full extent of the law,” she said.
“To the extent President Trump spurred these actions on, it is indefensible and I denounce any calls by the president to go against our constitution and democracy. I have called out the president in the past, and will continue to do so as appropriate.”
But Cantor and Gold wrote, “Sadly this was not surprising, as we have seen — time after time and tweet after tweet — the President of the United States use incendiary language in an unseemly attempt to present an alternative reality and overturn a democratic election.”
“Use the power of your voice to challenge falsehoods and stand up against hate, racism and violence,” they wrote. “It is your responsibility as a citizen to question all elected officials and use not only your voice but the power of your vote to elicit change.”
“We all know that incendiary language has led us to this place,” Cantor said in an interview Monday.
Nevertheless, “I don’t think it rises to the level of censure,” she said of Fay’s comment on Visconti’s post, noting that she made the comment the day before the attempted insurrection. In the end, voters must decide who they want as leaders, Cantor said. As a voter, she would ask,” ‘Why is [Fay] sitting on the council?’ Don’t let her come back,” Cantor said.
Most protesters came to Washington to participate in a midday rally held by Trump outside the White House. The president had repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of President-elect Joe Biden’s win without providing any evidence.
Immediately after the rally, Trump supporters marched to the Capitol. Visconti, a longtime Trump backer, told the Courant soon after the invasion that he followed the crowd after seeing accounts on Twitter that some people had unlawfully entered the building. He said he did not enter himself.
“It was an organic movement to go in and occupy the building,” Visconti said.
But Visconti also was recorded at the protest (https:// bit.ly/2XtJHQ3) saying, “The next time we do these rallies we do them in our states when we can carry our guns. Right? That’s what’s coming … It’s going to come to this. There is no other way. It’s going to end up coming to violence
“They’ve killed the king. Now we are on our own.”