AMHERST — Amherst’s municipal leaders are calling out former President Donald Trump, along with some Republican members of Congress and law enforcement, for their roles in fueling the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Observing that the “violent symbols of white nationalism to subvert our legitimate laws and institutions is the antithesis of democracy” and an affront to Americans, as well as “another blow to Black and brown people,” the Town Council unanimously adopted a resolution at their Jan. 25 meeting condemning the insurrection.
In doing so, the Town Council is also making sure that Town Manager Paul Bockelman will enact town policies that protect the right of protesters locally, with the resolution stating that it will “ensure that planned peaceful demonstrations by Black, brown, and indigenous people are responded to by law enforcement and public safety personnel in an anti-racist manner, consistent with the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, and exhibit no greater show of force than is routinely used in peaceful demonstrations by white people.”
At-Large Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke, who co-authored the resolution with District 2 Councilor Pat DeAngelis, said it is the council’s duty to call out injustices whether they happen in town or not. What was seen in Washington, she said, was detrimental to democracy.
Though the resolution is adopted, language was removed from an earlier draft that called on town officials “to ensure that no Amherst town employee who has sworn to uphold the laws and Constitution of the United States or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts participated in the violence and siege.”
Birdy Newman, a high school student and member of the Defund 413 Amherst group, said she was happy with the resolution, though suggested adding back in the language about employees.
“To the extent that Amherst can look into their employees’ conduct and ensure no one was at the insurrection, I think that’s really important,” Newman said.
Amherst resident Allegra Clark said she wanted to know if any town law enforcement members were present.
“I do think it’s important for the public to know whether or not there were any Amherst officers involved, as we have seen reports that there were local law enforcement present at the Capitol that day,” Clark said.
While Bockelman said he can unequivocally state that no members of the police department participated, traveled or took part in the riots, he said there are both free speech issues and collective bargaining matters to the question. “If just traveling to a location, what does that mean?” he said.
The resolution also references how law enforcement around the country responded to protests after George Floyd was killed by police officers in Minneapolis, noting “the intentions of demonstrators who marched in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement this past summer was peaceful, yet the demonstrators were met with an armed military and police presence, which made the institutional response glaringly and obviously racist in its use of and display of force.”
In discussing the resolution, Hanneke said she was “deeply disappointed” that Police Chief Scott Livingstone didn’t sign onto a statement put out by Bockelman and Superintendent Michael Morris after the Jan. 6 incidents.
Bockelman said it was unfair to disparage Livingstone for not speaking out as he had after the Floyd incident. Bockelman said the focus was on how the incidents in Washington would be disconcerting to children in seeing the violence, and possibly to immigrants who have come from countries where there is similar civil strife.