WORCESTER — The Worcester City Council’s June 10, 2025 meeting opened routinely with the Pledge of Allegiance and a rendition of the national anthem. After a roll call of councilors, Mayor Joseph Petty read a proclamation declaring June 14, 2025 as “Worcester Day” to mark the 303rd anniversary of the city’s incorporation. With no honorees present to accept the proclamation, the council proceeded to approve the previous meeting’s minutes and moved into public participation.
During the public comment period, several residents spoke on a range of local issues. The first speaker, Tracy Novick of 135 Olean Street, addressed items 12f, 12g, and 12h, which concern how the city council reviews and processes citizen petitions. She said she had planned to present a petition regarding “recent limitations on public access in city hall,” but it was excluded from the agenda. “Nowhere in the responses is the word ‘Constitution,’” Novick told the council. “This should concern you, as you are heading for a legal challenge under the First Amendment and Articles 16 and 19 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights.” Citing past court rulings, she argued that excluding her petition violated her free speech rights and amounted to “viewpoint discrimination.” Novick concluded, “Those who rejected my petition — none of whom serve on this body — and claiming that city hall was not under council purview violated my free speech rights.”
One of the other speakers, Mauro DePasquale of Worcester – executive director of Worcester’s public access station WCCA TV – addressed (item 13l) a request for the Public Service and Transportation Committee to review Charter/Spectrum franchise talks “and its impact on WCCA TV.” He told councilors the station’s operating budget “is about half of what I had since 2016,” and warned that, without new revenue, the cutbacks “will devastate our ability, our resources, our capacity, our staff—it’ll devastate the open and participatory media center.” DePasquale said losing WCCA would erase “a venue for respectful free speech, calls for transparency in government, institutional accountability…and…digital equity, not just equity in terms of people, but equity in terms of ideas and information, that’s what comes through with public access” and urged the council to convene the proposed committee meeting.
Next, Cindy Vo, of Indian Lake Parkway, who approached the dais holding her young daughter Willow Thistle, urged the city to install speed humps on Indian Lake Parkway (agenda item 9h) to curb dangerous speeding on their narrow residential street. Vo recounted an incident in April in which a car “pummeling down the street” struck her husband’s parked vehicle, nearly ripping off his door and his leg.
Later in the public-comment period, Jillian Keanes spoke on item 13i—Councilor Khrystian King’s request that the City Manager secure funding so the women’s shelter at the Seven Hills property can continue serving women ages 19–69. Keanes stated, “I am not a Worcester resident, but I am a woman who has endured years of being unhoused and survived commercial sexual exploitation here in Worcester.” She said the shelter “has been collaborating with multiple other community supports to provide accessible health care, advocacy, treatment for substance-use and mental-health disorders,” calling it “crucial for women who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation or human trafficking.” Keanes added that she was “hopeful city leadership will ensure the continuation of this vital space.”
While Keanes addressed the council, roughly 50 demonstrators flooded the chamber, raised signs, and drowned out her remarks with chants of “ICE out of Worcester now” and “No ICE, no KKK, no fascist USA!”
As the chanting escalated, Mayor Petty called a recess, and the council ultimately adjourned the meeting early, about a half hour after it began.
Arrest and officials’ response
City Manager Eric Batista later confirmed that one person was arrested in connection with the protest that disrupted the June 10, 2025 Worcester City Council meeting. The individual, who was not named by authorities, is charged with disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, and vandalizing property, according to Spectrum News 1. No injuries were reported during the protest, and the rest of the crowd eventually dispersed after the meeting’s abrupt end.
In a statement following the incident, Mayor Petty said that while he shares residents’ frustrations with federal immigration enforcement, shutting down a local council meeting is “unacceptable” because “disrupting local council meetings only disrupts the daily operations of people in the city.”
“Enough is enough,” Petty told Spectrum News 1, noting that he has been patient about public dissent but will not allow future interruptions. He reminded the public that protests with signs are not allowed inside city hall under longstanding municipal rules, which had been relaxed during the coronavirus pandemic. Petty said the city will enforce those rules “a little bit more than we have in the past” in order to prevent future meetings from being derailed.
“You’re not supposed to protest at city hall, it’s against the rules,” Petty said. “No signs, nothing. So, I’m going to start enforcing that a little bit more than we have in the past. During COVID a lot of the rules were relaxed and now people are taking advantage of that, both on the council side and in the public. So, we have to look at those and really tighten the rules up.”
The city has announced new security measures to deter future disruptions, including posting security guards on the first floor of city hall and installing screening scanners. Visitors will be subject to bag checks and metal detection, and protest signs will be barred from the chamber. Mayor Petty said he is hopeful these steps, along with potential contingency plans like moving meetings to another room if necessary, will help the council conduct business without further interruptions.
