Officials may push back on what you say, but they may not use threats, intimidation or coercion to stop you from speaking. The Appeals Court revived one resident’s claim under the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act against a town manager who talked over her, told her she was “not going to speak,” and approached her in a way she described as physically threatening. Other claims in the case were dismissed. This is a published decision of the Appeals Court and binding statewide.
What happened
In 2018 someone spray-painted a racist slur on the African Meeting House on Nantucket, a national historic landmark important to the island’s Black community. The crime went unsolved. Two Black residents who had pressed for answers spoke at a select board meeting on the two-year anniversary. When one resident said the town manager had not answered her truthfully at an earlier meeting, the town manager spoke over her, told her she was not going to speak, and said her comments broke the board’s agenda policy. The resident backed away from the microphone. On her way out of the meeting, the town manager stood within a few feet of her, glared down, twice asked if she was being called a liar, and slammed the door. The police chief, who wore a police vest and was visibly armed, then called the public questioning an improper inquisition and pointed out the second resident as someone who claimed to know who did it but would not tell police. Both residents kept speaking, and both sued.
What the court decided
In Barros v. Select Board of Nantucket, No. 23-P-1058 (Mass. App. Ct. Aug. 19, 2025), the court affirmed summary judgment on most claims but revived one.
Free speech claims. Article 16 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights says the right of free speech shall not be abridged. Everyone agreed the residents’ comments were protected political speech. Relying on Barron v. Kolenda, 491 Mass. 408 (2023), the court said political debate at public meetings can be rude and personal, and officials have speech rights too. Article 16 protects against conduct that abridges speech, not against expressions of disapproval. Because both residents went on to say what they came to say, the majority held there was no abridgment.
Civil Rights Act claims. The Massachusetts Civil Rights Act, G.L. c. 12, §§ 11H and 11I, lets a person sue when someone interferes, or attempts to interfere, with a secured right by threats, intimidation or coercion. Whether conduct meets that standard is judged objectively, using a reasonable person in the plaintiff’s position. Planned Parenthood League of Mass., Inc. v. Blake, 417 Mass. 467, 474 to 475 (1994). The court said that standard does not ignore who the plaintiff is. The first resident had experienced what she saw as racism from local police and distrusted the town manager, who was married to the deputy chief.
Viewed in her favor, the town manager’s repeated interruptions, her statement that the resident would not speak, and her physically threatening exit created a real dispute over whether she attempted to interfere through intimidation or coercion. The court called it close but compared it to Barron, where screaming at a speaker and threatening removal could support a claim. That claim goes back to the Superior Court for further proceedings. The court noted the town manager may argue on remand that she was only asking the chair to enforce meeting rules or defending herself.
The second resident’s claim against the police chief failed because he heard the chief’s remarks and then spoke freely. One judge dissented and would have sent all the residents’ claims, except the second resident’s claims against the town manager, to a jury.
What this means for you
The right to criticize officials at public meetings is strong in Massachusetts, including sharp and personal criticism. But this decision sets a demanding bar for a free speech claim when you were able to finish speaking. The more promising path may be the Civil Rights Act, which reaches attempts to interfere, not only success in silencing you. The key is evidence of threats, intimidation or coercion, not just harsh words.
Context matters. Who holds power, what happened before, and how close someone came to you can all bear on how a reasonable person in your position would feel.
What to do now
- Save any video or audio recording of the meeting and request the official recording.
- Write down what was said and done, in order, as soon as you can.
- List witnesses who saw any physical approach or threatening conduct.
- Write down what you planned to say and whether you were able to say it.
- Talk to a civil rights lawyer about which claims fit the facts.
If this is your situation, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or tell us what happened. Deadlines for discrimination and employment claims can be short.
