A Massachusetts mother made waves at a graduation ceremony when she confronted a politician with serious accusations. Moises Rodriguez, 64, who recently became Brockton’s first Black mayor, was delivering a speech to graduates at Brockton High School when the incident occurred on Saturday. Suddenly, an anonymous woman interrupted, yelling, “Get out of here!” This left both the students and Rodriguez momentarily stunned. She accused him, saying, “You know what you did to my daughter.”
As she continued to shout and gesture emphatically, police moved in to surround her. Despite her outburst, she was removed from the ceremony, but no arrests were made, even as parents expressed their anger.
Rodriguez, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, is currently facing allegations linked to an incident at Brockton’s Huntington Day Parade on May 22, where it was reported that he made a student uncomfortable. His office acknowledged the concern, noting that someone brought the matter to his attention.
Following these allegations, a judge issued a harassment prevention order, barring Rodriguez from being within 100 yards of students. While police are looking into the situation, Rodriguez stated he was unaware of the student’s identity, saying, “We have absolutely no clue as to who this family is.” He emphasized that, during the parade, he interacted with many attendees and didn’t intend to cause any discomfort.
Rodriguez, who was also the first Cape Verdean elected to the Brockton City Council in 2013, mentioned that all he knew was the student was a graduating senior and that he hadn’t presented any diplomas himself during the graduation event. He won the mayoral position in November by a mere 260 votes against City Councilor Jean-Bradley Delenoncourt.
Local Rep. Stephen Pina, whose daughter was among the graduates, chose not to comment on the allegations, stating that such matters should be dealt with by the appropriate authorities. A hearing to evaluate whether to extend the harassment order is set for June 22.
