After FBI Arrest, Natick Select Board Says It Can't Remove Ianni

NATICK, MA — The Natick Select Board is reiterating it does not have the power to remove Town Meeting member Suzanne Ianni — even after she was arrested by the FBI Tuesday and charged in federal court in connection to the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot.

In a statement Wednesday, the Select Board said Ianni's status as an elected official is essentially up to either voters or the courts. Wednesday's statement echoes what the Select Board said one week ago about Ianni's involvement in the Capitol riot.

"The actions taken by the FBI are a law enforcement matter, and we support the law enforcement community as they diligently continue to pursue their obligations," the statement said. "Any future actions that may be contemplated or undertaken by any entity regarding Ms. Ianni's position as a Natick Town Meeting Member will be guided by the applicable legal statutes. [State law] provides that elected officials are subject to the will of the voters, unless and until they are arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to prison for a felony conviction."

State law says elected officials can be removed if they are sentenced to prison in either state or federal court. The law also says an elected official can keep their seat if they are accused, but found innocent.

"If a convict sentenced by a court of the commonwealth or of the United States to imprisonment in the state prison or by a court of the United States to a federal penitentiary for a felony holds an office under the constitution or laws of the commonwealth at the time of sentence, it shall be vacated from the time of sentence," state law says.

FBI agents arrested Ianni at her home Tuesday morning. She appeared at federal court in Boston on Tuesday afternoon, where she was released by a judge. She has been charged with disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority, according to court documents.

Ianni is also facing separate charges in Washington, her attorney said in court on Tuesday.

Ianni was last elected in 2019