Trump Adviser Michael Flynn’s Inclusion In Rhode Island Hall Of Fame Leads To Resignation Of Six Board Members

Rhode Island’s Hall of Fame has been engulfed in controversy at the decision to add former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to its ranks. The decision has led to the resignation of several board members.

Flynn, who served for a mere 22 days as NSA adviser before he departed in 2017 and subsequently faced criminal convictions, was selected to be inducted next year.

The Rhode Island Hall of Fame, established in 1965, aims to honor individuals who have made significant contributions or achieved renown through their work while they resided in the state. As reported by The New York Times, board members expressed their strong opposition to Flynn’s inclusion, and cited his promotion of conspiracy theories and denial of the election results.

The induction class of 2023 included notable figures such as Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson, the first black person and second woman to join the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, as well as Lynn Singleton, the president and chief executive of the Providence Performing Arts Center.

On December 13, 19 board members voted to include Flynn, who was born and raised in Middletown, Rhode Island, as one of nine children, in the 2024 group of inductees.

The resignations of board members quickly followed.

Attorney John Tarantino and former state Sen. Bea Lanzi tendered their resignations in a letter addressed to board president Lawrence Reid and other members.

In the letter dated December 14, they expressed their disappointment and astonishment and stated that the decisions had compelled them to resign. They continued that they had provided detailed explanations as to why they believed Flynn was unworthy of induction and anticipated the potential harm it could cause to the organization. They also stated that their donations should not be used to handle any legal fees, crisis management, public relations fallout or negative reactions resulting from Flynn’s nomination and induction.

Board attorney Patrick Conley confirmed that six members had resigned and that Flynn had accepted the nomination. Conley also acknowledged that Flynn had received a pardon from former President Donald Trump after he pleaded guilty twice to lying to the FBI. When asked about Flynn’s dissemination of conspiracy theories in regards to the 2020 election, Conley declined to comment.

Flynn has consistently denied President Joe Biden‘s victory in the election despite the absence of evidence to support claims of election fraud.

In December 2020, Flynn even suggested that Trump should deploy the military to redo the election in certain swing states. Despite Flynn’s controversial statements, Trump appointed him as his first national security adviser, even though he had baselessly claimed that Shariah, or Islamic law, was spreading across the United States.

Flynn’s association with the right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory and his unsubstantiated assertions to InfoWars in January 2022 that George Soros and Bill Gates were part of a group responsible for the creation of Covid-19 to manipulate elections and exert global control have further fueled the controversy.

Ann Marie Marzilli Maguire, the board’s treasurer, stated that she resigned after the vote, and expressed her belief that it contradicted the organization’s principles.

Flynn famously pleaded the fifth when asked in a sworn deposition whether he believed in the “peaceful transition of power.”