City moves to shut down Zoom disruptions
Recent meeting marred by group that made hate-filled, racist remarks via virtual access
A group of people disrupted a Saratoga City Council meeting last month, making “hatefilled” remarks that targeted racial and ethnic minorities and the LGBTQ community.
A representative from the city of Saratoga said the comments were made by a group of participants who virtually joined the council meeting on Sept. 20 via Zoom. A copy of the meeting recording was shared with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, and it has been posted to the Saratoga website with a content warning.
“The city of Saratoga values freedom of speech and the democratic process. However, hateful remarks and blatant disrespect towards the diverse members of our community and our city council, which is comprised of several different cultures and faiths, at our meetings are not acceptable,” Mayor Kookie Fitzsimmons said in an email. “We are taking swift action to ensure respectful discourse at city council and commission meetings as there is no place for racism, bigotry or discrimination in Saratoga.”
More than 15 speakers spoke for nearly an hour, spreading white supremacist ideologies and using hateful language. One of the speakers said they represent a “worldwide, legal, peaceful and anonymous initiative that furthers the interests of White people through real-life action.”
This disruption follows a similar trend among cities and counties that allow online participation for meetings. The Sonoma Board of Supervisors eliminated the option for online participation to address the issue.
Saratoga is among the local governments and public agencies that moved meetings to Zoom during the pandemic so residents, city officials and council members could conduct meetings safely. Most cities have moved to a hybrid offering, where residents can attend either in person or virtually, but this also opened access to internet trolls who take over meetings with irrelevant comments at best, and racist and homophobic comments at worst.
Resident Jill Hunter said the comments lasted for more than an hour.
“Last night Zoom became a nightmare when hate-filled human beings contacted our council and spilled such filth; it was unimaginable,” Hunter said. “Not only was the language beyond reprehensible, but the hate-filled comments attacked every minority ever known.”
Councilmember Belal Aftab said he “strongly deplores and condemns these hate-filled comments.”
“These individuals targeted the Jewish, Muslim, black, LGBTQ, AAPI and numerous other communities that have a home here in Saratoga,” Aftab said. “As the first Muslim and Paki
stani American member of the city council, I'm proud of our city and council's diversity, strength and perseverance. This kind of hate, virulent antisemitism, racism and intolerance is abhorrent and has no place in our community. Our council is exploring how to manage this kind of situation going forward while respecting everyone's First Amendment rights.”
During the meeting, Councilmember Chuck Page called on the commenters to stop.
“As anti-hate city—and I'm all for free speech believe me, but this is ridiculous—I would like to request that future comments in this hateful manner stop,” Page said.
While some of the speakers identified themselves as residents, it's not clear if they are a part of the community, Saratoga officials said. Some of the speakers gave addresses that do not exist in Saratoga.
Los Gatos had moved to in-person meetings in 2021, but a far-right group disrupted council meetings and verbally accosted council members, forcing the town back to virtual meetings.
The town revamped its meeting protocols so council members and town staff know what to do in the event of a disruption. The framework they established was codified into state law earlier this year.