Racist Messages Posted During Acton-Boxborough Schools Meeting

ACTON, MA — Local officials are condemning a series of racist messages posted during an Acton-Boxborough School Committee meeting held over Zoom on Thursday night.

The "vulgar and hateful, racist messages" were sent to the School Committee members, according to a statement Friday from the Acton Board of Selectmen. The Selectmen were asking Acton police to investigate the incident as a potential hate crime.

"While it is our understanding that the members of the public did not see the hateful messages due to the correctly configured security and privacy settings, nonetheless, bad actors attended this virtual meeting and used the meeting to send these terrible messages to the school committee members," the Board of Selectmen statement read in part. "We are committed to a transparent process, and we will provide updates to the public on that investigation when available and appropriate."

Countless so-called Zoom bombings have taken place in Massachusetts and across the nation over the last several months as public meetings have moved online due to the coronavirus. A bombing occurs when an intruder appears during an open Zoom meeting and shares explicit or otherwise vile images or messages.