Midway to change public comment policies after “Zoom bombing ...
Published February 19, 2024 at 2:20 PM MST
Soon, Midway residents will need to come in person – or plan ahead – to make comments to their city council.
The city council is poised to adopt a new ordinance Tuesday, Feb. 20, that will restrict public comments to one minute within the council chambers. Comments must be related to Midway issues. If anyone wants to comment remotely, they’ll need to make a special request at least 24 hours in advance.
The proposed changes come after several Zoom attendees made racist, anti-Semitic and anti-LDS comments during the Feb. 6 city council meeting. They hurled profanities at Mayor Celeste Johnson when she tried to shut down their comments.
“I’m going to stop you right there,” she told one commenter. “I’m not going to support racial bigotry.”
Afterward, the city determined the commenters were not Midway residents because the addresses they gave don’t exist.
In a statement, the city said they’re committed to welcoming people of all races and religions in the community.
“We have used this unpleasant event as a reminder that evil still exists in this world,” they said. “While you claim the right to say it, we claim the equal right to condemn it, and do so with fervor and solemnity.”
Tuesday’s Midway City Council meeting begins at 6 p.m.
