A half-dozen residents used the public forum at the Fayetteville City Council meeting to press the council on transparency, immigrant protections and environmental harms.

Lizette Rodriguez of Freedom for All told the council she had re-read Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' and warned against prioritizing order over justice, urging council members to welcome dissent and ensure community voices are represented. Angela Tatum said the city has mishandled several projects 'totaling in upwards of millions of dollars,' pointed to an incorrect online report of a mayor pro tem vote and asked the city to publish a public correction.

Other speakers raised separate concerns that ranged from policing and surveillance to housing and water pollution. Ashley Evans, a District 9 resident, urged the council to adopt a clear written policy of noncooperation with federal immigration enforcement (ICE), citing the Tenth Amendment and arguing such a policy would protect families and community trust. Jose I. Cardona said the Cape Fear River and downstream communities are being harmed by a chemical plant's discharges, questioned whether recent state-funded filtration efforts are sufficient, and called for the plant’s closure.

At least two speakers appealed directly to the council on individual housing problems. Kong Khamon asked council members to reconsider a demolition order for his home at 206 Campbell, saying the house is structurally sound and that demolition would ruin his plans to operate a group home.

The mayor and clerk clarified procedural details during and after the forum: the public hearing about water previously took place at Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC), not Fayetteville State, and the clerk confirmed the forum would be limited to 30 minutes with three minutes per speaker. The council did not take immediate formal action on the public forum requests during the meeting.