A Brighton-area church service performed on Zoom Sunday was infiltrated by non-church members who rabidly started posting white supremacist imagery and making racist threats against the church minister.
White supremacists Zoom-bombed church services preformed online by the Community Unitarian Universalists in Brighton Sunday, Feb. 14, while Reverend Julie Brock ministered to her congregation about the struggles and achievements of civil rights in the United States.
“It was totally unexpected,” Brock said. “Services were going along fine, then when I began talking about civil rights, a bunch of KKK imagery started appearing in the Zoom meeting. My admin was able to take them down quickly, but then I started getting direct threats messaged to me.”
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The infiltration started as just one person logged in, disguised using a church member’s name, followed by a flood of non-member requests to join Zoom services, Brock said.
The church has been performing services using Zoom since early in the COVID-19 pandemic and has not seen any issues until this incident, Brock said.
The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating the Zoom bombing.
In the wake of the Zoom-bombing, Brock penned an open letter to the individuals responsible for the incident, forgiving them for their actions and offering an open dialog if they wish to speak with her.
“To the people who virtually attacked my church this past weekend, I’m sorry for whatever happened that filled you with so much hate. I don’t know who hurt you enough to make you want to threaten someone you’ve never met, but I want you to know you deserve better,” she wrote.
“There is no dignity in how you behaved. I believe you can do better. There is more love somewhere. I pray you keep on, till you find it. I’m here if you get lost along the way.”
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