Town Council Treasurer Karen “Rudy” Renaud’s proposed ordinance that would establish local hate crime legislation got more personal Wednesday after she received a threatening email from an unknown person, and a post about her proposal appeared on an antisemitic website.
The email, with the subject line “You Belong in Prison,” referenced her being put in a concentration camp if Trump is elected president. The sender wrote, “maybe they will cure you of your perversions too.” Renaud is a gay woman.
During a public hearing to discuss the ordinance Wednesday evening, it was also revealed that a post about Renaud’s proposal appeared on an anti-Semitic website. The article used an offensive epithet to describe Renaud and stated she’s trying to use “slave labor” as punishment for local hate crimes. Her proposed ordinance includes community service hours for those found guilty through the legal system for committing such crimes.
Renaud said she originally decided to draft the ordinance after a series of racist and antisemitic incidents occurred in town.