Natick Select Board Condemns Capitol Riot, But Can't Go Further

NATICK, MA — The Natick Select Board on Wednesday sharply condemned the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot, but also made it clear that no town official has the power depose an elected Natick Town Meeting member photographed inside the Capitol during the riot.

The Select Board passed two separate statements on the Capitol riot at its Wednesday meeting: one covering the public health implications of residents who participated in the Jan. 6 events, and a second criticizing the event and the deaths that occurred.

"The unlawful action of last week was an attempt to thwart the will of the American people," Select Board member Karen Adelman-Foster reading the statement said. "It was an attack on democracy itself, and we strongly condemn it."

Earlier this week, over 500 Natick residents signed a petition to the Select Board seeking the removal of Town Meeting member Sue Ianni. A photojournalist with Agence France-Presse photographed Ianni standing in the Senate wing of the Capitol on Jan. 6 in a crowd of people with her fist raised

In a preface to the statement, Select Board Chair Jonathan Freedman carefully avoided using Ianni's name. He said the Select Board consulted with Natick police, the town's attorney and Town Moderator Frank Foss after being inundated with calls and questions about the riot.

Any criminal investigation would be handled at the federal level, Freedman said. There is a provision in the town charter to recall an elected official, but it specifically excludes Town Meeting members, he said.

Natick resident Ben Jackson, who started the petition to oust Ianni, spoke during the meeting. He said it concerned him that Ianni, and possibly other residents, would endanger public health by appearing in a crowd without a mask. He also said that town law may need to be changed if there's no way to remove a Town Meeting member.

"On Jan. 6, a member of our town government kicked up a hornets nest traveling mask-less to Washington, DC, and then engaged in an insurrection," Jackson said.

It appears Ianni's future as a Town Meeting member is now up to voters. She was last elected in 2019 as a Precinct 3 representative.

Federal officials have made dozens of arrests in connection to the Capitol riot. Massachusetts District U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling has said he will prosecute any state resident who traveled to Washington to commit a crime on Jan. 6. His office did not return a request for comment this week on whether Ianni was under investigation.