Iowa Democratic Black Caucus Meeting is 'Zoom Bombed' with Racial Slurs and Death Threats
Trolls disrupted the Iowa Democratic Black Caucus Meeting, yelling the N-word, 'white power' and 'Donald Trump' which cut the meeting — attended by U.S. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty — short.
Several trolls uttering the N-word, “white power” and “Donald Trump” Sunday night interrupted a Zoom call by the Iowa Democratic Black Caucus, which was attended by U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who is chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and chair of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion. About 38 participants were on the call, including two Iowa lawmakers.
“Tonight we’re going to be like family,” Beatty said. “This is Sunday. We’ve opened up with prayer.”
That’s when she is interrupted by a troll who says, “Shut the f—k up, you N-word.”
Different voices can be heard saying, “white power” and repeatedly saying the N-word in hopes of tanking the meeting.
“I do apologize for that, ladies and gentlemen, but once again that shows you the type of intelligence and the type of integrity we have when it comes to the opponents of the Iowa Democratic Black Caucus,” said Al Womble, chair.
Beatty tried to continue but was unable to finish.
“Let me just say, you know, I serve in Congress, so nothing ever surprises,” she said, while on the call.
Several trolls continued to utter racial slurs and told her and others to “shut up.” One troll can be heard saying more than once, “y’all all gonna die in like five days so.”
A few meeting attendees said they jotted down the IP addresses and the screen names of the trolls.
Womble told the trolls they would not stop progress.
“If you think that you're going to scare or intimidate somebody like myself, you’re sadly mistaken,” Womble said.
A voice can be heard saying,"Yeah. We ruined your Zoom. Now go. Bye.”
Womble said the meeting will be rescheduled. The threats will be reported to the authorities, he said.
Womble said more support is needed to combat white supremacy and these acts of intimidation. He urged allies to join in the fight for racial equity.
“In no way is this going to stop or intimidate anybody from the Iowa Democratic Black Caucus,” Womble said. “People need to know this kind of thing is real and it’s happening right now.”
Zoom bombing meetings have increased since the videoconferencing app became popular during the pandemic. Meetings held by state and city officials in Iowa have also been disrupted.
Tags: #IowaDemocraticBlackCaucus #AlWomble #Trolls #ZoomBomb #DonaldTrump #Racism #Iowa #BlackHistoryMonth
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