Editorial: City Council meeting gets ‘Zoom Bombed’

At the Nov. 16 Zoom meeting of the Belleville City Council, just before the council started discussing the two marijuana proposals that passed in the Nov. 3 election, the meeting was besieged with disgusting, racist comments. The comments were yelled over the comments of those speaking in the meeting, as well as yelling over each other.
The regulars at the council meeting were shocked and City Manager Tracey Schultz Kobylarz worked feverously to get the disgusting outsiders off the virtual meeting.
About ten names were given when they entered the Zoom meeting, but it is believed those names were fictitious.
“We’ve been Zoom Bombed,” Kobylarz announced. “That was repulsive,” she said after they were cleared from the meeting.
“That’s the world I live in,” said the city’s new Clerk/Treasurer Verna Chapman, an African American.
All the members of the council voiced their revulsion at the comments made.
Police Chief Dave Robinson asked Kobylarz if they could track the phone numbers of those who did the attack and she said she would check it out. “I’d like a list,” Chief Robinson said.
Kobylarz said she would research ways to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
“The people who did that have no morals and no character,” said Councilwoman Kelly Bates.