A Connecticut council member is facing calls to resign after calling a pro-Palestinian protester a Hamas terrorist and allegedly dismissing him before calling her city's police “piglets.”
The Bridgeport City Council urged City Councilmember Maria Pereira to resign Thursday following the insulting email to city officials.
This came a day after the council approved a non-binding resolution on Tuesday in support of a ceasefire in Gaza.
In the email, Pereira – who was arrested in November over an incident at a polling station and has been accused of intimidation in the past – claimed that a person who supported the ceasefire and was present at the council meeting may have been a Hamas terrorist used to be.
“A Palestinian young man, possibly a Hamas terrorist, repeatedly shouted my name and waved a propaganda poster at me,” Pereira said. “I just stuck my middle finger up at him.”
“They were nothing more than Palestinian criminals,” she said in the email.
Connecticut Councilwoman Maria Pereira is facing calls to resign after calling a pro-Palestinian protester a Hamas terrorist and reportedly rebuffing him before calling her city's police “piglets”
In the email, Pereira – who was arrested in November over an incident at a polling station and has been accused of intimidation in the past – claimed that a ceasefire supporter present at the council meeting may be a Hamas terrorist is.
On Thursday, a group of councilors along with religious leaders and Senator Herron Gaston (pictured) gathered in front of the police station to hold a press conference highlighting their calls for councilor Maria Pereira to resign.
On Thursday, a group of councilors along with religious leaders and Senator Herron Gaston gathered in front of the police station to hold a press conference highlighting their calls for Councilor Maria Pereira to resign.
Pereira was one of two councilors who opposed the ceasefire resolution, but it nevertheless passed by a vote of 14 to 2.
In her email, she also insulted fellow council members, Mayor Joe Ganim, and Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter.
Pereira called Porter a pig and labeled Bridgeport police officers as “piglets” in the email. Chief Porter responded, calling the comments “unfortunate.”
“It is very unfortunate to hear this statement,” Porter said. “As Chief of Police, I support the dedication and hard work our officers provide for the Bridgeport community every day.”
Khaled Elleithy, president of the Bridgeport Islamic Community Center, condemned Pereira's comments, saying, “While our religious leaders from the three major faiths are calling for peace, an elected official has chosen to disrupt the peace in our city of Bridgeport.”
“It is unacceptable for a locally elected leader to use such language that is simultaneously harmful and divisive, especially within our Chamber – an action that was disrespectful to the public itself,” council president Aidee Nieves said at the press conference. .
However, one council member, Jorge Cruz, defended his colleague and expressed his belief that the punishment for dismissal is excessive.
In response to calls for her resignation, she told NJ News 12 that she plans to sue for defamation
Pereira was one of two councilors who opposed the ceasefire resolution, but it nevertheless passed by a vote of 14 to 2.
“I absolutely agree that she should be punished, but I don't agree that she should resign (because) she was elected by the people of her district,” Cruz said.
When contacted by Connecticut Public for comment on Thursday, Pereira responded with “LOL!”
She answered calls for her resignation NJ News 12 that she plans to file a lawsuit for defamation.
Pereira was arrested last November during the city's first primary elections over an incident at a polling station.
She was charged with third-degree assault and arrested outside the John F. Kennedy School.
The primary results, which Ganim narrowly won with absentee ballots, were overturned in October after a Superior Court judge found evidence of electoral misconduct by Ganim campaign volunteers.
In 2016, interim School Superintendent Fran Rabinowitz came after Pereira, a member of the Board of Education, before leaving her term.
She filed a complaint with the state Commission for Human Rights and Opportunity, accusing Pereira of an ongoing pattern of harassment and discrimination.
In 2016, Interim School Superintendent Fran Rabinowitz came after Pereira, a member of the Board of Education, before leaving her term
She filed a complaint with the state Commission for Human Rights and Opportunity, accusing Pereira of an ongoing pattern of harassment and discrimination.
Three other district employees – High Horizons Director Francine B. Carbone, Parent Center Coordinator Lisa Pavlik-Kuhn and Delores Mason – joined the complaint against Pereira.
Pereira subsequently failed to publicly discuss the complaints by a 5-4 vote.
“I went everywhere I could for help, but I couldn't get it,” Rabinowitz said of the case in 2016. 'It touched me. I've never been in a situation where I couldn't get help.'
Prior to that incident, Rabinowitz attempted to ban Pereira from city schools and headquarters, claiming she had threatened staff and caused them intimidation and fear.
“Numerous employees have come to me in shock, distraught and in tears after their interactions with you,” Rabinowitz wrote in an October letter to Pereira. In particular, she said, Pereira repeatedly threatened to discipline and fire district employees.