TEMPE, Ariz. — Officers are investigating a Zoom celebration that was crashed. The crashers used the N-word and flooded the meeting with videos of the Ku Klux Klan.
What was meant to be a loving birthday celebration for Berdetta Hodge, the president of Tempe Union High School District Governing Board, was crashed by people who spread a hateful message.
One crasher said, “I hope you die.”
“When I first heard it, it struck me to my heart,” said Hodge.
The Zoom crashers popped into the meeting four times using racist language and sharing images of the Ku Klux Klan.
Hodge’s son invited the public to the Zoom gathering on social media.
“We wanted to have a space where you could come as you are, and bring whoever you wanted,” said Jevin Hodge.
Participants had to RSVP, and from there, Jevin's staff approved the email addresses and sent a Zoom link to about 40 people. He thought that was enough protection, but the crashers joined with fake names and were allowed into the meeting at the beginning of the call.
The owner of Data Doctors, Ken Colburn, said that to avoid an incident like this, it’s better not to host a live event.
“Rebroadcast it on Youtube or Facebook so everyone can comment through those platforms, but they can’t necessarily crash the system,” said Colburn.
He said another safeguard is not allowing anyone to join the meeting until their camera is on because crashers are encouraged by anonymity.
The Hodge family decided to go forward with their celebration, after kicking the crashers out.
“We wanted to show that love is more powerful than hate, so we continued on,” said Berdetta.
The moment is a painful lesson in Zoom crashing.
“We’ve come so far in this world, but we have so much more to go,” said Berdetta.
The Tempe Police Department said in a statement:
“The Hodge family scheduled a Zoom event to celebrate a birthday that was destroyed by hackers who posted hateful videos and messaging. The Tempe Police Department has reached out to the Hodge family to initiate a criminal investigation. We are committed to assisting the Hodge family and reducing harm for all our community members. At this time, no additional information is available.”
