Five protestors cited at Mayor Michelle Wu’s home under new law

Police are citing at least five protesters who demonstrated outside Mayor Michelle Wu’s house on Friday, the first day when new rules came into effect.

According to police reports, the group of six to eight protesters who routinely show up to heckle Wu as she leaves home did so again. Police cautioned them that as at 7.30am, they were now breaking a new law.

The rule, which was proposed by Wu and passed Wednesday by the City Council, prohibits people from targeting people in their homes with protests from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. Anyone in violation of that could face a $50 fine, with the amount rising for further offences.

Wu’s office said she signed the ordinance change on Thursday, so that night into Friday morning was when it went into effect. Boston mayors often, though not always, announce when they’re signing bills into law, however Wu’s administration didn’t make any such announcement about the new law.

When asked about enforcement, Wu’s office deferred to the police department, which sent over reports from the morning.

Two police reports from Augustus Street showed the first time the protesters who have demonstrated on and off outside of Wu’s house since January faced legal issues. The names of the ticketees are blurred out, as these are civil infractions and not criminal charges.

The police reports say that officers handed out copies of the new rule at 7:30 a.m, warning the protesters that they be liable for a fine if they didn’t cease protesting. One of the protesters then told cops she was leaving, but she just headed to her nearby car and “intermittently used an amplifying device to yell.”

“As the identity of the other protesters become known to officers, civil complaints will be sought against them for the city ordinate violation,” the first report, which mentions three people being cited, concludes.

Shana Cottone, who is a Boston Police sergeant who remains on leave, said she isn’t sure if she’s going to be cited, but wouldn’t be surprised if so. Cottone said it doesn’t seem fair to cite people over a law that when they showed up, they didn’t know had gone into effect yet.

“This is just another political hit job by the administration,” said Cottone, who emerged as one of the most vocal opponents of the employee vaccine mandate before the department placed her on leave.

Cottone said they’re talking to a lawyer about how to challenge these citations. Asked what’s coming next, Cottone said “I’m not going to reveal my hand, but this isn’t over.”