Man Charged With Threatening Norwich Mayor On Social Media: PD

NORWICH, CT — A New London man is facing charges that he posted threatening comments about the mayor of Norwich on social media.

Lt. Kyle Besse said police on Tuesday arrested John L. Moore, 65, of 202 Coleman St., New London, and charged him with second-degree threatening and intimidation based on bigotry or bias.

According to Besse, on May 14, police were made aware of threatening comments being posted on social media.

In several comments, an individual used threatening language and made references to Norwich Mayor Swarnjit Singh, according to police. According to his biography, the mayor was born in India.

Following an investigation, police secured an arrest warrant on Friday.

Singh on social media reposted a comment from Moore, which said: “Put all these morons I'm going to have to go home and take care of things and get rid of that muscle piece of s*** for mayor permanently take out his whole family and the rest of them I was just even allowing this to happen where I grew up this should never happen.”

In response, Singh posted, “I can ignore some of the racial slurs directed at me these days, but I will not tolerate threats to my family. I will continue to serve my community as mayor and focus on economic development, whether anyone likes it or not. I have always condemned political violence and transnational repression, and I will continue to do so.”

Gov. Ned Lamont said he condemns the “racist, threatening remarks.”

“This kind of hatred has no home in Norwich or anywhere in Connecticut,” Lamont said.

On behalf of the Senate Republican Caucus, State Sen. Stephen Harding issued the following statement regarding threats directed at Norwich Mayor Swarnjit Singh: “Zero tolerance. There must be zero tolerance for any threats of violence. The CT Senate Republican Caucus condemns these threats in the strongest of terms. We thank local law enforcement in Norwich, and we thank our federal law enforcement officials for working cohesively to address this.”

Moore was processed and held on a $5,000 court set bond. Details on his court appearance were not immediately released.