The popcorn mogul who based Pirate’s Booty Snacks tried to commandeer a New York village’s native authorities, storming this minuscule municipality’s workplace armed with a false assertion claiming that he was mayor.
Robert Ehrlich strode into the city corridor of Sea Cliff, a village of fewer than 5,000 residents inside the bigger city of Oyster Bay on Lengthy Island, with all of the finesse of a literal pirate on 10 March.
He “offered an announcement falsely asserting his authority as mayor, demanding entry to workplace house, and declaring that the whole village employees was fired efficient instantly however may reapply for his or her jobs”, authorities stated on Fb.
Ehrlich, 66, cited a New York state legislation that allows native residents “to dissolve their city or reformulate it”, the New York Occasions defined. Underneath this laws, one wants signatures from 10% of city voters.
Ehrlich brandished an envelope claiming that he had 1,800 signatures – however reportedly refused to indicate it to city staff, alleging that signatories have been fearful about blowback.
After his failed takeover, Ehrlich entered Sea Village’s mayoral race as a write-in candidate. On Tuesday, Ehrlich misplaced closely to the incumbent, Elena Villafane, in a 1,064-to-62 vote, in keeping with experiences.
Ehrlich’s mutinous strikes are harking back to the marketing campaign by Donald Trump’s key aide Elon Musk to slash federal spending as head of the so-called “division of presidency effectivity”, an ad-hoc physique created by the US president upon returning to the White Home two months in the past. Doge staffers have repeatedly arrived at federal company workplaces demanding entry to premises and pc knowledge, whereas
firing or placing on discover lots of of hundreds of public service staff. Lots of his strikes have been efficiently challenged in courtroom.
After village staff instructed Ehrlich that his proclamation was “invalid and unsupported by legislation”, they requested him to go away. However Ehrlich and his associates turned “more and more confrontational and refused” the village stated in a Fb publish.
The pushback left Ehrlich’s timbers un-shivered. Though metropolis employees stored calm, Ehrlich and his crew “raised their voices, used profane language, made outlandish claims, and engaged in direct harassment of Village personnel”, the publish added – and wouldn’t increase anchor.
This created “a hostile and disruptive surroundings that required police intervention.” Village staff suffered “almost an hour of escalating hostility earlier than Mr Ehrlich and his associates left and order was restored.”
Village leaders thanked workplace employees for remaining cool-headed and respectful regardless of “being subjected to intense and outlandish habits”.
“They’re a credit score to our Village and display the motto of ‘Maintain Calm and Carry On,’” the Fb publish stated.
After his loss, Ehrlich reportedly insisted “I’m nonetheless the mayor” and, like Trump since his defeat within the 2020 presidential election, claimed the village election “was rigged”.
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