FBI Visited Braintree School Board Hopeful After Capitol Riot

BRAINTREE, MA — A candidate for Braintree School Committee and former teacher at Braintree High School said he has been visited twice by the FBI since participating in the Jan. 6 rally in support of President Donald Trump that turned violent as some attendees stormed the Capitol.

Matthew Lynch resigned from his teaching position in February. He had been a teacher in the district for about 10 years. In an email exchange with Patch, Lynch confirmed he had been questioned by FBI agents investigating the Jan. 6 riot, which left five people dead and injured at least 138 police officers.

Lynch did not elaborate on the nature of the FBI interviews, and did not respond when asked if he was a target of an FBI investigation. "Good luck with your article...hope you don't print false information!" Lynch said in response to an email asking if he had received a target letter from the FBI.

The FBI declined comment on Lynch. The agency typically does not comment on active investigations and says it "can neither confirm nor deny" when asked about specific targets.

Following the riot, a picture of Lynch in front of the Capitol on Jan. 6 was shared on social media. Members of several community Facebook groups, including "A Better Braintree" and the "South Braintree/Highlands Civic Community," took screenshots and shared the photo. Some posts in the group also shared the tip line the FBI used to investigate violence at the riot.

It is unclear the extent of Lynch's involvement in the Jan. 6 rally and if he was among those who breached the Capitol building.

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Lynch accused those who shared the picture and FBI information of "slandering me as a domestic terrorist." He called the group a "digital Lynch mob" who "decided they would take 'justice' into their own hands."

Lynch said the FBI visits stemmed from tips called in after the FBI phone number was shared in community Facebook groups.

Lynch's resignation from Braintree High School

In his February resignation letter, which he shared with Patch, Lynch said it was an honor and privilege to serve the students of Braintree, but he could no longer work as a teacher because of his personal beliefs.

"Unfortunately as the times change and situations evolve, I can no longer be true to myself while service the role as a Braintree Public School Teacher," Lynch wrote.

"My military experience as an Intelligence Analyst has given me unique perspective on what is currently going on in both our country and our town and I fear we are heading on a real collision course," Lynch continued in the letter. "I feel I need to make my voice heard in the town of Braintree but in doing so will have unintended side effects which will be completely unfair to my students."

Patch asked interim Superintendent Jim Lee for comment and will update this story if we hear back. Lynch said the day he turned in his resignation letter, he told the Braintree High School principal he was going to run for School Committee.