Ex-Braintree School Teacher Denies Breaching Capitol On Jan. 6

BRAINTREE, MA — Newly-elected School Committee member Matt Lynch said he did not breach the security perimeter at the Capitol building when he attended the Jan. 6 rally in support of President Donald Trump.

Lynch went on WBZ NewsRadio's NightSide With Dan Rea on Thursday night to address the controversy. Last month, Lynch told Patch he had been questioned by FBI agents twice. A photo of Lynch at the Capitol surfaced on community Facebook groups, prompting some Braintree residents to report him to the FBI. He told Rea residents who reported him to the FBI targeted him for his political beliefs.

"I wasn't fired, I wasn't forced to resign," Lynch told Rea. "The administration was good with me. These are the type of people who really don't stop until they finish their target."

Interim superintendent Jim Lee confirmed Lynch resigned under his own volition.

Lynch resigned from the school system in February, a month after he attended the Jan. 6 rally in support of President Donald Trump that turned violent as some attendees stormed the Capitol. The day he resigned, Lynch told school officials he was going to run for school committee.

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Lynch was elected to the school committee Tuesday, receiving more than 2,300 votes. A day later, Braintree Public Schools granted a Patch public records request and released 27 formal complaints against Lynch from parents, students, teachers and other community members.

While the 27 complaints mostly focused on Lynch's trip to Washington, they also touched on other areas, including threats made against a parent and a transphobic social media post.

"This type of person should not, and cannot, be in an academic environment and be teaching the children of Braintree," wrote one former Braintree student. "He does not belong in a position of power to students."

Rea did not ask Lynch to address the threat accusations or the social media post during the talk show. Instead, the show focused on Lynch's visit to Washington, D.C. and Lynch's school committee platform, including wanting to bring back the Braintree Wamps mascot.

"If we get rid of it, who from Braintree will know what the Wamp was?" Lynch said. "It will be a part of lost history"

"I'm not tied to a mascot," Lynch continued. "There's so many more important things we have to do."

Faries Gray, the head of the Massachusetts Native American tribe of Ponkapoag, does not support the high school's use of the Wamp mascot. He said Native Americans don't feel honored by indigenous mascots. Instead, they feel like trophies.

Lynch's account of Jan. 6

Before Lynch went to the rally, he said he was on vacation visiting a friend for their birthday.

"We decided a group of us to drive down there [to the Capitol]," Lynch said. "The next morning, we were up early to hear the speakers. It was a great day ... It was good to see people smiling and laughing and stuff."

Lynch said his hotel room was right next to the White House, and that he found out the rally turned into a riot when he turned on the television and saw people inside the Capitol. He said he then walked down, but didn't cross any barriers. Lynch said he could see "instigators," many who were wearing gas masks.

"You could kind of tell there were people out there to do nefarious things that day."

Listen to Lynch's full interview on NightSide here.

Also read:

• Incoming Braintree School Board Member Accused Of Making Threats
• FBI Visited Braintree School Board Hopeful After Capitol Riot