Vermont reporter booted from city hall

Ted Cohen

Vermont Daily Chronicle

The mayor of Vermont's largest city evicted a reporter from City Hall - for doing his job.

“I was waiting for a meeting to end so I could speak to someone in the mayor's office about a story I was reporting on,” Todd DeLuca told Vermont Daily Chronicle.

At that point, a security guard accused DeLuca of loitering “because I was waiting for a meeting to end so I could speak to someone in the mayor's office about a story I was reporting on.”

DeLuca on Facebook, “Beautiful Scenic Burlington,” has featured non-confrontational videos of homelessness, first responders, city officials, protests, parades, etc., since December 2023.

He was working on a story about a Burlington man who has been a critic of Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak.

The man was holding a protest critical of the mayor when her office called the Howard Center to do a “mental evaluation” of the protest organizer.

Officials of Howard Center, a crisis mental-health facility, went into City Hall to have a meeting in Mulvaney-Stanak’s office.

“I was waiting for that meeting to end to speak to someone about it when I was ‘trespassed,’” DeLuca said.

The trespass notice says it is “a warning that you are not permitted on the property. Your continued presence on this property is a trespass. You must leave it immediately.”

The notice warns that violating its terms could result in prosecution.

Vermont Daily Chronicle has reached out to Mulvaney-Stanak for clarification.