Michael Flynn’s inclusion in Rhode Island Hall of Fame sparks resignations

‘There is an overall right and wrong in the universe, and what has happened here, in our view, and according to our moral compasses, and consciences, compels us to resign,’ board members say in resignation letter

Former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn being added to the Rhode Island Hall of Fame has led to several board members leaving their roles.

Flynn, who left the job after 22 days in 2017 and was later criminally convicted, was chosen to be inducted next year.

The board members said that Flynn, a conspiracy theorist and election denier, shouldn’t be added to the group, according to The New York Times.

The Rhode Island Hall of Fame was launched in 1965 and includes people from the state “who made significant contributions” or who became renowned for the work they did while they lived in the state.

The 2023 inductees included Judge Rogeriee Thompson, the first Black person and second woman to join the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and the president and chief executive of the Providence Performing Arts Center, Lynn Singleton.

Nineteen board members voted on 13 December to include Flynn, who was born and raised in Middletown, Rhode Island, as one of nine children, in the 2024 group to join the Hall of Fame.

The Providence Journal and The Boston Globe initially reported on the resignations from the board that followed.

Board members John Tarantino, an attorney, and Bea Lanzi, a former state senator, resigned in a letter to board president Lawrence Reid and other members.

In the 14 December letter, they said the result was “both disappointing and astounding to us”.

“There is an overall right and wrong in the universe, and what has happened here, in our view, and according to our moral compasses, and consciences, compels us to resign,” they wrote, according to The Times.

“When we learned last month that Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn was a nominee, you and the Board were advised specifically and in detail why we believe that he is not worthy of induction and why his induction would likely cause real and dramatic harm to the organization,” they said.

They added that their donations to the organisation could not be used “to deal with any legal fees, crisis management, public relations fallout, or other negative reactions the organization may face because of Lt. Gen. Flynn’s nomination and induction”.

The Independent has attempted to reach Flynn family representatives for comment.

An attorney for the board, Patrick Conley, told NBC10 that six members had left the board and that Flynn had accepted the nomination.

Mr Conley noted that Flynn was pardoned by Mr Trump after pleading guilty twice to lying to the FBI.

The local news channel stated: “When asked about Flynn peddling conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, Conley told NBC10 he didn’t want to get into that.”

Flynn has ardently denied that President Joe Bien won the election, despite no evidence emerging that the election was stolen. In December 2020, Flynn suggested that Mr Trump deploy the military to redo the election in certain swing states.

Mr Trump brought Flynn on as his first national security adviser despite that he had claimed with no evidence that Shariah, or Islamic law, was spreading across the US, The Times noted.

Flynn has pushed the rightwing QAnon conspiracy theory, in addition to telling InfoWars in January 2022 that George Soros and Bill Gates were part of a group that created the coronavirus to “steal an election” and “rule the world”.

The board’s treasurer, Ann Marie Marzilli Maguire, told The Times that she left the board after the vote.

“This is wrong,” she told the paper Tuesday. “This is not what the organisation stands for.”

Steve Aveson left after 19 years on the board. The former news anchor texted to The Times that he was “heartbroken over what this has done” to the organisation.

Former State Rep Denise Aiken wrote in a resignation letter “I find that I am unable to be associated with an organization that would choose to honor a criminal”.

She told The Providence Journal: “I just couldn’t see placing that particular nominee on the same footing with so many fabulous people that have been honored in that way over the many years that it’s been in existence.”