Avidia Bank criticized for renting space for event that will feature 2 charged in Capitol attacks

HUDSON — A firestorm of social media postings followed plans announced on Facebook by the Hudson Republican Town Committee to host two Jan. 6 protesters at an event at the Avidia Financial Center community room later this month.

Much of the displeasure was aimed at the bank.

From threats made by multiple customers to pull their money from the bank, to plans to stage a protest outside of the center during the scheduled event, the community reaction, much of it condemning the plans, has been swift.

At 6:30 p.m. Feb 20, the Hudson Republican Town Committee is slated to host a “Civics Matters” event that will feature two people who were arrested in connection with the uprising at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021. President Trump issued a blanket pardon to those charged in the attack.

The meeting is due to be held in a meeting room that the bank makes available to outside organizations. The room is in the bank’s downtown Financial Center on Pope Street.

Calls to Avidia Bank, its marketing manager Janele Maysonet and emails to both Maysonet and bank President Robert Cozzone were not immediately returned.

Massachusetts residents due to speak at the event, according to fliers, are Sue Ianni, a former Natick Town Meeting member who is now registered to vote in Saugus, and Mark Sahady, of Malden, described as vice president of Super Happy Fun America and a founding member of Citizens Organized to Restore Rights North.

More: Trump pardons 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants. Here are the Mass. residents who were charged

“Thousands of people in Hudson are well-aware of these plans,” said Kathy Ekdahl, a former Democratic committeewoman who calls herself the town crier. Ekdahl now lives on Cape Cod, but is still in touch with the Hudson community.

“This is concerning to thousands of people in Hudson,” Ekdahl said.

More than 200 comments, and counting, have been posted on the Avidia Bank Facebook page condemning the bank’s decision to rent the community space to a group who would spotlight the two insurrectionists.

Community members have also cried shame in their posts on the Facebook page of the Hudson Republican Committee as well as on the personal Facebook page of the committee chair, Chuck Kuniewich Jr. A call to the telephone number listed for Kuniewich requesting comment was not returned.

In response to the community criticism of the Hudson Republican Committee plans, the committee made a plea for people to keep an open mind and listen to the events as told by the participants.

In a Facebook post, the Hudson Republican Committee wrote: “The Hudson RTC defends everyones (sic) right to have their own opinion, but will push back on anyone who thinks they can have their own facts. Many things stated are factually not true or are distortions… Truth, the destruction and damage done was inexcusable, but is it justice for everyone to be charged with that damage, including the people not inside but just in the area? … Civics Matters is for those wanting to hear with their own ears the most direct version, not a bastardized version formatted to make a great story that needs to fit a time slot.”

Some posting on social media sites suggested the bank limit the forum to a webinar or Zoom meeting or opt to limit rentals of the space to non-political organizations and non-political events.

A spokesman for the Massachusetts Republican Committee said the umbrella organization has no involvement in the event and was unaware that it had been scheduled until receiving a query from the Telegram & Gazette.

The current political climate in the United States has prompted much of the consternation surrounding the event.

Jurnee Ware, a Hudson native and local esthetician, is helping to coordinate a protest of the event. While the initial objective is to shut down the event, if the bank opts to continue to honor the rental agreement, the next step is to protest against the event.

“The Republican Committee claims the public was misinformed,” Ware said, noting that featuring the insurrectionists, whether or not they were pardoned by President Donald Trump, is not a “good use of the committee’s political platform.

“We will stand against it,” Ware added.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Avidia Bank criticized for for event that will feature 2 charged in Capitol attacks