BOSTON -- The Wu administration has acknowledged it has compiled a list of Mayor Michelle Wu’s most vocal critics and sent it to the Boston Police Department, claiming security concerns.
“The list was made in response to a request from the Boston Police Department after the Mayor had been harassed and physically intimidated by individuals for several months outside her home, at city functions such as the annual neighborhood parks coffee hours, and at other public events,” Wu spokesman Ricardo Patron said in a statement to the Herald.
This is the first time the Wu administration has admitted it compiled such a list, which was uncovered in an email by a group of Wu opponents through a public records request.
It shows the Wu administration taking the offensive against her opponents, coming on the heels of passing an ordinance prohibiting protests outside the mayor’s Roslindale home during certain hours.
But the unusual action raises questions about whether it crosses the line into using Nixonian tactics to suppress people’s rights to protest and intimidate her critics.
“The request (from police) came after many of the individuals on the list repeatedly impeded the Dorchester Day Parade to harass Mayor Wu and her family and staff, yelling through megaphones at her and her children for nearly ninety minutes as they marched in the parade despite being asked by parade organizers to leave the parade route,” Patron said.
“Following the Dorchester Day Parade on June 5, 2022, Boston Police met with City staff on June 10 to make a safety plan for the upcoming Bunker Hill Day parade on June 12, and the then-Captain of the District overseeing Charlestown asked for a list of individuals who had been involved in public disruption and harassment of the Mayor at the Dorchester Day Parade and outside her house,” Patron added. “The email was sent as a follow-up immediately after that meeting.”
It’s unclear what actions police took in response to getting the watch list.
The list – sent in an email from Wu’s former Director of Constituent Services Dave Vittorini to Boston Police Capt. Robert Ciccolo – includes Wu’s most vocal opponents, such as City Council candidate Christine Vitale, several anti-vaccine activists who have been protesting Wu’s house, and North End restaurant owners who have opposed Wu policies.
Included in the email was simply the names of 15 people including Vitale, Shana Cottone, “Mendoza Brothers from the North End,” and “A woman with the last name of Thuy who was arrested before.”
There was no explanation in the email of why the names were listed.
Also cc’d on the email were Wu aides Tiffany Chu and Brianna Millor.
The email was sent following loud protests outside Wu’s Roslindale home last year.
Vitale is running for one of four at-large City Council seats and has been an outspoken Wu critic. Others on the list have been a part of protests outside Wu’s Roslindale house, according to the Boston Accountability Network, a group of Wu opponents.
Richard NIxon was infamous for compiling an enemies list during his presidency, and Wu opponents now believe she is using similar tactics, calling the list a “hit list.”
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