WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A local activist has come forward to say he called protesters “freakin’ morons” during a public meeting after the comments were captured on a live microphone and attributed to a Massachusetts mayor who apologized for the remarks.
Worcester activist Richard Aucoin and Democratic Mayor Joseph Petty both acknowledged Thursday that Aucoin made the remarks Petty apologized for on Wednesday.
Aucoin says he was frustrated that protesters were chanting at a City Council meeting on Tuesday. The demonstrators had gathered at City Hall earlier in protest of Republican President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
In a video of the meeting, someone can be heard uttering “freakin’ morons. Morons, morons, morons.”
Petty says he initially denied making the comments. But as more people seemed convinced that he made them, he started to think they were right.
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