Trolls spewing the N-word and “white power” briefly disrupted a virtual legislative forum hosted on Facebook by Des Moines legislators, Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad, Rep. Marti Anderson, Rep. Jo Oldson and Sen. Janet Petersen.
“N-word, N-word. You (expletive deleted) N-word. You (expletive deleted) N-word,” a troll said on the call.
As new meeting participants signed on, more racial slurs followed.
“N-word. I hate N-words,” the troll said. “Kill all the N-words. White power. White power. Kill all the N-words.”
This follows last Sunday’s Iowa Democratic Black Caucus meeting which was ‘Zoom bombed’ by trolls uttering racial slurs.
Anderson, who was the meeting’s Zoom host, recalls letting in four of the people people who turned out to be trolls. There were about 61 people on the call when they disrupted the meeting.
“I was so sick to my stomach,” Anderson said. “I was so startled.”
Abdul-Samad said the racist words didn’t shock him, but they visibly affected others on the call.
“Some people you could hear them gasp,” he said, in an interview. “They were like, ‘What?’ When it happened again and again, they were like, ‘Oh, my God.”
Anderson said she figured out how to eject the trolls from the virtual meeting and she reported them to Zoom. Eventually, she closed the meeting to new entrants. She said it felt good to continue the meeting, but “Our stomachs never settled down.”
A few of the trolls used the names Mary and Will to join the meeting, she said.
“They used just regular old names,” Anderson said. “They didn’t use Bubba Rebel. Now that I woud have been able to pick out right away.”
Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad (D) Des Moines during a Virtual Legislative Forum on Facebook Saturday via Zoom.
Abdul-Samad said racial trolls are nothing new.
“People don't realize the trauma that we have been going through,” he said. “It’s sad and we’re all hurt, but it brings through the reality of what Black people have been going through for decades.”
Saturday’s disruption happened because progress is being made, he said.
“Because if not, we wouldn't have individuals interrupt this call. We wouldn’t have individuals trying to stop us,” he said.
The meeting continued for another 40 minutes while legislators discussed education, proposed constitutional amendments on abortion and guns, mental health funding, the “1619 project” and parole, among other topics.
During last Sunday’s Democratic Black Caucus meeting, trolls yelled the N-word, “white power” and “Donald Trump.” The meeting was attended by U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who is chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. About 38 participants were on the call, including two Iowa lawmakers and other city officials. Authorities are investigating.
Meeting with the public remains important, Anderson said.
“I wanted to have a forum where my constituents could ask me questions about what's going on at the Capitol. That's really important to me — to hear how they're feeling about it, to answer their questions and to connect with them,” Anderson said.
Abdul-Samad said the legislators have held forums during the last two legislative sessions at a library, but the coronavirus pandemic had forced meetings to go online. The next meeting in March will require participants to pre-register, he said.
Abdul-Samad reminded meeting participants during the call why their work is so important.
“We have to tell people voting has consequences. Elections have consequences. And if we don't struggle to make that change, we see the consequences,” he said “Let's go get our skin thick. And let's go do what we’ve got to do because we are going to win this.”
Legislators discussed a controversial proposal concerning the “1619 project,” which would cut funding to schools that teach slavery and the contributions of the enslaved as central to American history, which Abdul-Samad said has a “90% chance” of passing because “Republicans control the house and the senate and the governorship.”
The Zoom bombing of meetings has increased with the popularity of videoconferencing apps. Several city and state meetings have been disrupted.
Correction: Sen. Janet Petersen’s name and title were incorrect in previous versions of this story.
