Scores of mostly Asian American protesters Saturday demanded the resignation of a city councilwoman in Malden (near Boston) over an Asian-themed Halloween costume, reports WCVB.
The costume from 2019, but that just recently came to light, showed her as an Asian spa worker and her husband portraying the owner of the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft. Police arrested Kraft on charges of soliciting prostitution during a visit to an Asian spa in Florida in 2019. Those charges were eventually dropped.
A protestor said if Councilor Jadeane Sica had apologized, they would not be protesting.
On Tuesday, the Malden News Network reported outraged Malden residents tried to speak about the controversy, but were shut down because the item was not on the agenda.
However, a speaker got around it when he spoke about a diversity issue already on the agenda.
“As an Asian member of the community, I haven’t seen many people consult the Asians in this community,” said Marc Tonongbanua. “I would just like to be included.”
After the meeting, Tonongbanua expressed his disappointment at being stopped from directly addressing the issue about Sica.
“Councilor Sica should resign,” he said to the Malden News Network after the meeting.
The council banned him from talking about the issue directly.
“We allow you to speak about the papers that are before us. We will not allow you to speak about a particular councillor,” council president Neil Anderson said.
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