Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Heated public comment over Gaza interrupts Suffolk County Legislature meeting
Summary
During public comment on June 3, multiple speakers disrupted proceedings with loud calls for a Gaza ceasefire, leading the Presiding Officer to order removal of disruptive attendees. Speakers urged the Legislature to adopt a ceasefire stance; others raised immigration and deportation concerns.
A portion of the public-comment period on June 3 became a disruptive, emotional exchange when speakers demanded that the County Legislature publicly call for a ceasefire in Gaza and denounced county ties to defense contractors.
Amal Barghout-Karzai, who identified herself as a Palestinian-American Suffolk County resident, and Susan Steinmann repeatedly chanted "Ceasefire now!" from the public gallery; the urgency and volume of the chants led Presiding Officer McCaffrey to warn the speakers not to berate the legislators, and then to ask deputies to escort disruptive attendees from the chamber after the speakers continued. The transcript records multiple exchanges during which the Presiding Officer warned, "Do not berate the Legislators" and ultimately asked the deputies to escort the protesters out if they could not comply with the rules.
Other public speakers used their three-minute comments to raise concerns about deportation flights, American policy on investor visas, and local veterans' events. Bill McNulty urged lawmakers to expand their "thinking" to global humanitarian concerns. Daniel Karpen and Myrna Gordon raised local infrastructure and parade-spending concerns during the same public-comment period.
Why it matters Public comment is a scheduled forum for residents to speak directly to their elected representatives. The chants and disruptions briefly halted orderly testimony and prompted the presiding officer to enforce the chamber's rules. The disruptive protests also drew attention to how national and international issues surface at local legislative meetings.
What happened next Presiding Officer McCaffrey enforced the gallery rules, ordered disruptive attendees to leave, and closed the public-comment sequence after additional speakers were called.
Provenance: public comment exchange SEG 592–SEG 639 and moderation/escort SEG 646–SEG 650.
