- Bridgeport City Council urged City Council member Maria Pereira to resign on Thursday, following the offensive email to city officials
- ‘A Palestinian young man, possibly a Hamas terrorist, repeatedly yelled out my name and was waving some propaganda poster at me,’ Pereira said
- Pereira was arrested for third degree assault in November for an incident at a polling station. She was also accused of harassment back in 2016
A Connecticut council member faces calls to resign after calling a pro-Palestinian protester a Hamas terrorist and allegedly flipping him off, before referring to her town’s cops as ‘piglets’.
Bridgeport City Council urged City Council member Maria Pereira to resign on Thursday, following the offensive email to city officials.
This occurred a day after the council endorsed a non-binding resolution supporting a Gaza ceasefire on Tuesday.
In the email, Pereira – who was arrested back in November for an incident at a polling station and has been accused of harassment in the past – alleged that a person supporting the ceasefire, present at the council meeting, might be a Hamas terrorist.
‘A Palestinian young man, possibly a Hamas terrorist, repeatedly yelled out my name and was waving some propaganda poster at me,’ Pereira said. ‘I just stuck up my middle finger at him.’
‘They were nothing more than Palestinian thugs,’ she said in the email.
On Thursday, a group of council members along with religious leaders and Sen. Herron Gaston, gathered in front of the police department to hold a press conference emphasizing their calls for Councilwoman Maria Pereira to step down.
Pereira was one of the two council members opposing the ceasefire resolution, but nonetheless it passed with a 14-2 vote.
In her email, she also insulted fellow council members, Mayor Joe Ganim, and Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter.
Pereira referred to Porter as a pig and labeled Bridgeport police officers as ‘piglets’ in the email. Chief Porter responded, calling the remarks ‘unfortunate.’
‘It is very unfortunate to hear that statement,’ Porter said. ‘As Chief of Police, I support the dedication and hard work our officers bring to the Bridgeport Community every single day.’
Khaled Elleithy, president of the Bridgeport Islamic Community Center, condemned Pereira’s comments, stating, ‘While our religious leaders from the three large religions call for peace, an elected official chose to disrupt peace in our city of Bridgeport.’
‘It is unacceptable that a local elected leader uses such language that is harmful and divisive, all at the same time, especially within our chamber – an action that was disrespectful to the public itself,’ said City Council President Aidee Nieves at the press conference.
However, one council member, Jorge Cruz, defended his colleague, expressing his belief that the punishment of resignation is excessive.
‘I agree that she should be punished, absolutely, but I do not agree that she should resign [because] she was voted in by the people in her district,’ said Cruz.
When contacted by Connecticut Public for comment on Thursday, Pereira responded with ‘LOL!’
Addressing the calls for her resignation, she told NJ News 12 that she is planning to sue for defamation.
Pereira had been arrested last November during the city’s first primary election over an incident at a polling station.
She was charged with third-degree assault and was arrested outside John F. Kennedy School.
The primary results, barely won by Ganim with absentee ballots, were nullified in October after a superior court judge found evidence of electoral misconduct by Ganim campaign volunteers.
Back in 2016, Interim Schools Superintendent Fran Rabinowitz came after Board of Education member Pereira before leaving her term.
She filed a complaint with the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, accusing Pereira of a constant pattern of harassment and discrimination.
Three other district employees — High Horizons Principal Francine B. Carbone, Parent Center Coordinator Lisa Pavlik-Kuhn and Delores Mason — joined the complaint against Pereira.
Pereira then failed on a 5-4 vote to get the complaints discussed publicly.
‘I went everywhere I could for help, but could not get it,’ Rabinowitz said about the case in 2016. ‘It got to me. I never have been in a situation where I couldn’t get help.’
Prior to that incident, Rabinowitz attempted to bar Pereira from entering city schools and central office, claiming she had threatened staff, causing them intimidation and fear.
‘Numerous employees have come to me shaken, distraught and in tears following interactions with you,’ Rabinowitz wrote in an October letter to Pereira. In particular, she said, Pereira repeatedly threatened to discipline and terminate district employees.
