(Left to right) Alderman Tony Mammone, Alderman Chicago Rivers and candidate Brian Perkins.
ANSONIA — Two incumbent Republican Aldermen are accusing a Democratic candidate for office of being connected to an image online containing a superimposed Confederate flag, and of living in a house that displayed the flag. The candidate says the accusations are not just wrong and misguided — they are the latest chapters in an online harassment campaign that has been targeting him for more than two years.
The Photo
Earlier this month Sixth Ward Republican Alderman Tony Mammone emailed an undated photo to The Valley Indy. It shows the brother of Fifth Ward Democratic candidate Brian Perkins standing in the center of what looks like a residential dining room next to a woman.
Brian Perkins is in the background, sitting at a table next to a woman he was dating at the time.
The bottom of the photo has a Confederate Flag superimposed on the image, along with the superimposed message “heritage not hate.”
A cropped version of the image is below. The image is cropped because several other people in the photo are unidentified private citizens.
The bottom of the photo shows this illustrated overlay.
“I keep asking the question, but can’t seem to get a response. Maybe you can get a response. Is this him in these pics and did he post them to his Instagram or Twitter account?” Mammone asked.
The superimposed photo from Mammone does not include any information indicating it was posted to social media, such as branding from Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
But Perkins himself said the superimposed photo is from Facebook and appeared on his Facebook page.
It happened because his brother posted the photo to Facebook, and “tagged” him in the photo, which placed the photo on the page.
Depending on a user’s individual Facebook settings, users can have photos in which they are “tagged” by others show up on their personal Facebook pages.
Click here to understand how tagging — which is a different action than posting — works.
He said the raw image itself, minus the Confederate overlay, was probably taken when he was in high school.
Perkins said Mammone is slinging mud ahead of the Nov. 2 municipal election.
“I was expecting this. They’ve had it in their back pockets for months. I’ve debunked photos from them so many times,” Perkins said.
Perkins is a 2015 Ansonia High School graduate who served in the U.S. Marines. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2020. He’s 24 years old. This is his first run at public office.
“The photo in question is one that I did not post but I was tagged in on Facebook. I had no knowledge of the photo being edited, and was on active duty service as a United States Marine during the time this photo was edited,” Perkins said in a written statement.
“My focus at the time was serving the country, ensuring that we make mission, and ensuring that my unit and fellow Marines were ready when the nation needed us. Monitoring my Facebook for photos I was tagged in without my knowledge was not a high priority for me. That being said — I do not condone this behavior or endorse it in any way, and my focus as a Veteran is to continue serving people, those people being my community and the residents that need help here in Ansonia.”
Mammone said he did not believe Perkins’ explanation.
Facebook Thread
The photograph Mammone sent to The Valley Indy earlier this month was mentioned in a thread on The Valley Indy Facebook wall Monday (Oct. 25).
The Valley Indy had published a letter from a resident who expressed support for Ansonia Democrats. The Valley Indy shared a link to the letter on its Facebook page, where readers have the ability to comment.
Fifth Ward Republican Alderman Chicago Rivers posted the following question in the thread: “Why (hasn’t) no one from their (meaning Ansonia Democrats) ticket (addressed) the racist who flies a Confederate flag on their team that they’re endorsing?”
“I keep asking but no response. So much for transparency,” Mammone said to Rivers in the thread.
John Feddern, a Democrat running for alderman in the First Ward, said the thread on the Valley Indy Facebook shows a pattern of personal attacks.
“That’s how these threads usually go. It will be a post that has absolutely nothing to do with Brian, and in comes Chicago Rivers saying ‘Well, what about this racist kid’?’ It’s slanderous, because Brian is not racist,” Feddern said. “This has just been constant, constant harassment. Brian has taken the high road here and tried not to get into with either of them because they (Rivers and Mammone) come at him really, really hard, and unjustifiably so.”
In an interview with The Valley Indy, Rivers said he has a history of bad blood with Perkins going back several years. Rivers raised questions about Perkins’ behavior in high school, his payment of taxes, car registrations, and familial upbringing.
“If there was just a little investigation, just a little research — that photo was taken from his page,” Rivers said, referring to the photo Mammone sent The Valley Indy. “He blamed his brother. People from his (Ansonia High School graduating) class called me up and told me. I mean, I didn’t go out there trying to find this, people told me, him and his whole family has been that way their whole life, and they are Trump supporters. I know a lot of Democrats and a lot of Democrats don’t even like him.”
Perkins said Rivers hates him because Perkins was part of state Rep. Kara Rochelle’s re-election campaign last year. Rivers’ daughter was Rochelle’s opponent.
Rivers said he only has a problem with Perkins.
“Me and Brian have a long history of arguing,” Rivers said. “I don’t have a problem with anyone else. I’m friends with a lot of Democrats. He stretches the lie and he lies. And this is what I hate.”
Vouching For Perkins
Two Democrats contacted The Valley Indy to vouch for Perkins after learning The Valley Indy was asking questions about Perkins. Those Democrats include Chris Grizzle, who is also running for the Board of Aldermen.
Grizzle, himself a military veteran and person of color (as is Rivers), defended Perkins (who is white, as is Mammone) against Rivers’ accusation.
“Although I have only known Brian Perkins since I decided on running for Sixth Ward Alderman, I feel very comfortable in saying that he is not a racist,” Grizzle said in a text message. “Throughout our many discussions and some opposing points of view, I’ve never heard, felt, or seen an indication of such a negative trait. Unfortunately, in and out of the military, I’ve had my share of interactions with racists, and Brian Perkins does not hold that title, in my opinion.”
Active duty U.S. Marine Sgt. Aryan S. Uppal served with Perkins in the Marine Corps. He sent a letter to the editor Tuesday vouching for Perkins’ character.
“Brian Perkins is an excellent human being with the highest morals and greatest character. Even till this day I personally still live by many of the leadership principles that were taught to me by Brian Perkins,” Uppal wrote.
The Flag On The House
Mammone told The Valley Indy Perkins’ house in Ansonia flew a Confederate flag. He said the flag is visible when searching Perkins’ home address on Google Maps, then moving the cursor down the street, and then positioning the cursor so that it looks toward a garage.
The Valley Indy verified that a Google Street View image dated November 2015 shows a Confederate flag on the property.
“There are several photos that tie him back to that flag, including his residence. If he is saying it’s altered or suggesting it’s altered, you can go right to Google maps, drive to his house virtually, and that’s the flag hanging up on his garage,” Mammone said.
Mammone accused Perkins of not “owning” his past.
“For him, he’s Mr. Democrat, Mr. Worried About Everyone Else and equality, he’s worried about diversity for teachers, but he’s got several links to a flag that is supposed to stand for hate,” Mammone said. “All of his folks don’t like the Confederate flag and what it stands for. We could argue all day about what it stands for and what you believe it stands for, but to his party it stands for hate and he’s got links to it, and he’s talking about diversity and all this other stuff.”
Perkins said Mammone is taking political cheap shots because Mammone knows he lives with his family, including a conservative Republican brother who is responsible for the Confederate flag on the house.
“They don’t know me, but they’re attacking my character,” Perkins said. “They want to paint a narrative about me, but they don’t even talk to me.”
The Google Street View photo of Perkins’ house with a Confederate flag was photographed by Google in November 2015, when Perkins was a student at Ansonia High School.
Perkins said in 2015 he supported Donald Trump for U.S. President, not the racism of the Confederacy. Perkins noted that in the old photo Mammone sent with the Confederate flag superimposed, Perkins is with a former girlfriend, a woman of color.
Perkins said a Confederate flag is no longer attached to his residence. Mammone said it’s been seen within the past 18 months. Perkins said Mammone is holding him responsible for the sins of a family member to score cheap political points.
“My brother and I have very different views on things. I only have so much control over what my brother decides to do. It’s not like I put a Confederate Flag on my house,” Perkins said. “I’m not the only person who lives in my house. I live there with my family. There are many things I don’t agree with politically with my family. I don’t condone that behavior, and I’ve asked him to take things down.”
Mammone sent three additional undated photos to The Valley Indy. One shows a group of people posing with a Confederate flag. Perkins’ brother is visible in the low-resolution photo. Another undated photo shows the Perkins’ brothers in front of a U.S. Flag, with “I Stand” superimposed on the image. Another is an undated screenshot showing Perkins sharing a pro-gun post from a Facebook page called “Being Libertarian.”
Regarding his journey from Trump-supporting Republican to running with Democrats for the Board of Aldermen, Perkins said he gravitated more and more toward the Democratic Party while in the Marines.
He said he was basically “born into” the Republican Party, but his views changed based on what he saw in the Ansonia GOP and what he saw nationally.
Perkins said Mammone’s old photos show he is throwing spaghetti “against the wall to see what sticks.”
“They’re trying to play gotcha. But the truth is peoples’ attitudes and beliefs can evolve over time. It’s OK to say ‘yeah, I changed my views on things’ is healthy,” Perkins said. “They’re trying to attack me and say I can’t change my opinion on things, but I think it’s something important to do from time to time, especially given the situation I was in. I grew up in a very Republican household.”
The Background
Social media bickering and Facebook arguing between supporters of Mayor David Cassetti (such as Aldermen Mammone and Alderman Rivers) and Perkins go back several years.
Perkins was close with former Alderman Phil Tripp, who was an ally of Mayor Cassetti when Cassetti was first elected in 2013.
Perkins has been a prolific poster on Facebook since at least 2015 when he was a senior at Ansonia High School, and was a self-described Republican who backed Donald Trump for U.S. president, even appearing on a Valley Indy Trump-related podcast in August 2016 after accusing The Valley Indy of unfair reporting.
Tripp and Cassetti eventually had a falling out, kicking off a period of infighting within the local GOP.
Then the Cassetti administration locked horns with the Ansonia Board of Education and the former school superintendent over funding.
That dispute eventually turned into a lawsuit, with the school board taking the Aldermen to court.
Perkins was a vocal supporter of a former school superintendent who clashed with Cassetti, and he was a prolific Facebook commentator, becoming one of the administration’s most frequent critics on Facebook.
In addition, the Ansonia Facebook “community pages” — and The Valley Indy Facebook wall — often became obnoxious places where residents and public officials would argue nonstop about a given issue, especially during election years.
In 2019 several Ansonia GOP’ers believed Perkins was involved in a “parody” City of Ansonia Facebook page that posted personal insults, such as making comments on the physical appearance of city employees. The page was referenced in a 2019 Valley Indy podcast.
Perkins said he interacted with the page but denied being behind the cruel “parody” page.
At roughly the same time in 2019 as the “City o’ Ansonia” insult page was angering officials in Ansonia, anonymous Facebook pages attacking Perkins were created.
One of the Facebook attack pages is still around and was active in July, despite multiple reports of harassment to Facebook. It contains 70 photographs insulting Perkins, his family and friends, including many photos of Perkins.
There’s also a Pininterest attack page that links to a defunct blog that attacked Perkins.
Perkins said local Republicans are aware of the various attack sites and that the Confederate flag comments are an outgrowth of the harassment campaign.
Mammone said Perkins was deflecting.
“So him posting (Perkins denies this) and getting tagged in Confederate flag pics is us, online trolling him?” Mammone said in an email. “As I said, own your past. If he can’t do that, that’s fine. It’s not going away.”
Feddern, the first-time Aldermanic candidate running with the Democrats, said the statements from Rivers and Mammone make people in Ansonia think twice before running for office.
“These are grown adults and they’re acting like children. They’re acting like bullies. This is why people don’t want to run for office. This is what keeps people out of politics, this type of intimidation and bullying,” Feddern said.
Fake Outrage?
Niki Dykstra is president of the Naugatuck Valley Young Democrats, a group that endorsed Perkins.
In an email, Dykstra called the racism accusation a “deeply personal and, frankly, bizarre attack” on Perkins.
She said Perkins is far from racist. She said Perkins has called out people connected to the Ansonia GOP for racist social media posts when the Ansonia GOP did not.
Dykstra pointed out Perkins used social media to criticize (unofficial) Ansonia Historian John Tuohy, a Cassetti administration supporter who was scheduled to get an award from the Boy Scouts with the mayor’s support in 2020 until the Scouts saw problematic Tuohy posts on social media and canceled the ceremony.
Perkins, by the way, says Tuohy is behind some of the anti-Perkins Internet content, and said so in public at a 2019 Ansonia Board of Aldermen meeting.
(The Pinterest web page “John Tuohy” has a “basement boy” section with 39 photos, including photos of Perkins that link to “ansoniabasementboy,’ a defunct attack blog. The same Pinterest web page has numerous links to Tuohy’s “Writer’s Site” blog, to which Touhy has publicly linked to from his personal Facebook page.)
The Valley Indy messaged Touhy through two social media accounts this week for comment.
Dykstra said Perkins also used Facebook to criticize Patricia Fers, a local Republican who resigned her seat on the Board of Assessment Appeals in 2020 due to questionable social media posts.
“Brian isn’t afraid to speak up for what’s right and has a real history of doing so. In contrast, the Ansonia GOP has shown over and over again that they’re willing to support, promote, and honor individuals who feel comfortable writing racist things on social media — apparently, that isn’t a deal-breaker,” Dykstra said.
The Valley Indy messaged Ansonia Republican Town Committee Chairman John Marini for reaction to Dykstra’s statements. He brought the subject back to Perkins’ house in Ansonia and asked if Perkins would be leaving the Aldermen race.
“It does appear that the Perkins household has flown the Confederate flag in the recent past. Are they denying this?” Marini asked. “The Democrats are basically saying: “I know you are, but what am I” to the concerns raised about their candidate for Board of Aldermen flying, displaying or otherwise showing support for an extremist cause.”
Dykstra said the GOP is simply engaging in character assassination.
“The public is smart enough to see why the Ansonia GOP is attacking Brian with these smear tactics: because he is a strong and caring candidate and unafraid to speak out against the local Republicans when they do wrong,” Dykstra wrote in an email.
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