ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The public comment section of the City of St. Petersburg virtual city council meeting took a hateful turn Thursday afternoon as racist comments were spewed, according to Mayor Rick Kriseman.
"Today's virtual city council meeting was crashed by racists who attempted to use their allotted time to spew hateful and repulsive words and call for individuals, including African Americans and the mayor, to be killed," Kriseman wrote on Facebook.
Kriseman shared that those who broke the law will be accountable and that the St. Petersburg Police Department is reviewing the meetings audio to determine if the word "mayor" was said along with racial slurs.
He also told those attempting to "agitate and be hurtful" should feel shame and are not welcome in St. Petersburg.
"This is a time for peace and healing and moving toward a better and fairer society for African Americans. Anything less is unacceptable here," Kriseman wrote.
The mayor had more words for those who crashed the meeting later in the night, calling them "hateful cowards" while sharing that he was thinking of all his friends of the city council who had to endure them.
10 Tampa Bay has reached out to the police department for more. This story will be updated as we hear back.
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