Natick Town Meeting Condemns Capitol Riot With Ianni Watching

NATICK, MA — On a crowded Zoom call Tuesday night during Natick's first night of spring Town Meeting, Suzanne Ianni watched as her colleagues voted to condemn an event that, according to federal prosecutors, she took part in.

The first night of Town Meeting was marked by a resolution brought by Town Meeting member Jay Ball. His resolution condemned the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol in general, but did not name Ianni — a move that would've been counter to Town Meeting rules, according to Moderator Frank Foss.

"Armed insurrection, sedition, riot, mayhem against our political institution is lawlessness," member David Krentzman said in support of Ball's item. "I applaud the maker of the resolution for expressing the outrage so many Town Meeting members felt and feel about the horrific scene we witnessed on Jan. 6."

But the resolution had its detractors. Some members felt Town Meeting wasn't the right place to speak out about national issues. Others felt the language was too strong, in particular a portion that said Town Meeting failing to speak out "is to be complicit" in the events of Jan. 6.

A member moved to strike that language, and that succeeded in a 112-20 vote with nine abstaining.

Member Patti Sciarra called the entire resolution "grandstanding about national events."

"Are we going to start condemning other national events? Where does it stop?" she said.

The Natick Select Board in mid-January condemned the Jan. 6 riot, also without naming Ianni. Days later, the FBI arrested Ianni at her Natick home. She was charged with disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority, according to court documents. She was released from federal custody after an initial court hearing in January, and is awaiting her next appearance at the end of May.

The Select Board has said it can't remove Ianni, who was elected to a three-year term in 2019, because she hasn't been convicted of a crime. This spring, Town Meeting is also considering an article to study whether Natick should change its rules about removing election officials accused of wrongdoing.

Ball's resolution condemning the Capitol riot passed with 113 in favor, 20 against and seven abstaining.