Name: Boston ‘Straight Pride Parade’ organizer Mark Sahady jailed, Natick politician Sue Ianni free following arrests for US Capitol siege
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Boston ‘Straight Pride Parade’ organizer Mark Sahady jailed, Natick politician Sue Ianni free following arrests for US Capitol siege

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By | | Boston HeraldA lead organizer of Boston’s “Straight Pride Parade” is being detained and a Natick Town Meeting member has been ordered to stay away from the Massachusetts State House as both face charges in connection with the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.Mark Sahady, 46, of Malden, and Suzanne Ianni, 59, of Natick — both avowed President Trump supporters — were arrested by FBI agents at their respective homes early Tuesday and both appeared later in U.S. District Court in Boston where a prosecutor suggested the pair could still pose a threat.“The defendant was part of an organized horde, whose actions collectively resulted in the murder of one police officer, four other deaths and at least 60 other people injured,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney William Bloomer of Sahady during a virtual court appearance.Bloomer did not oppose Ianni’s release, but asked a judge to order her to stay away from the Massachusetts State House.“We suspect and anticipate there will be different demonstrations there over the next week or so,” the prosecutor said.Judge Jennifer Boal ordered Sahady held in federal prison ahead of a Thursday detention hearing where lawyers are expected to hash out whether his release poses a threat.Arguing against his detention, Sahady’s lawyer Jane Peachy asked why the government would move to detain Sahady but not Ianni.“I fail to see anything distinguishable between the two cases,” Peachy said.Both Ianni and Sahady face charges of disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and entering or remaining in the U.S. Capitol building unlawfully on Jan. 6 as Congress met to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s election win.Sahady is a founder and vice president of the anti-LGBTQ Super Happy Fun America, known for its “Straight Pride” march in Boston in 2019. Ianni also has ties to the group, according to FBI documents, and helped organize buses that ferried hundreds of Trump supporters from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C., ahead of the violence there.The group purports to be an advocate for the “straight community,” according to its website and bears the motto, “It’s Great to be Straight.”In photos posted to social media and included in FBI affidavits, the pair are pictured together standing inside and outside the U.S. Capitol building around the time a violent mob stormed the building.In a Jan. 5 post to the group’s Facebook page, Ianni and Sahady are pictured together on one of those buses flashing thumbs-up signs alongside about a half-dozen other people, according to FBI records. The photo is captioned, “Bus 1 of 11 coming to Washington DC. See you there!”Ianni reportedly bragged to a local newspaper that she was the “lead organizer” for the buses, documents reveal. Her LinkedIn account identifies her as a board member for Massachusetts Women for Trump.Ianni is also listed as a contact person in a Jan. 4 Facebook post from the account “New England for Trump” advertising the Super Happy Fun America road trip to Washington, D.C., “prior to a Joint Session of Congress with state electors on January 6th.”Sahady’s Twitter account was rife with “multiple statements” claiming the 2020 election was stolen from Trump and urging supporters should gather in D.C. to respond on Jan. 6 to “send a message,” charging documents show.The Malden and Natick police departments assisted the FBI in Tuesday’s arrests.The FBI tip line for the deadly Capitol insurrection has been flooded with calls since Jan. 6, several of which identified the Sahady and Ianni. A MetroWest Daily News report also identified the pair in photos.Social media places several other Massachusetts residents, including , in Washington, D.C., before the failed insurrection. Ianni and Sahady are the first Bay Staters to face arrest by federal authorities.A Pittsfield man, David L. Ross, 33, of 10 Winter St., was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department on Jan. 6 and charged with unlawful entry, and violating the curfew set in Washington, D.C., that evening.We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.Sign up for email newslettersFollow UsMost PopularClose

By | | Boston HeraldA lead organizer of Boston’s “Straight Pride Parade” is being detained and a Natick Town Meeting member has been ordered to stay away from the Massachusetts State House as both face charges in connection with the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.Mark Sahady, 46, of Malden, and Suzanne Ianni, 59, of Natick — both avowed President Trump supporters — were arrested by FBI agents at their respective homes early Tuesday and both appeared later in U.S. District Court in Boston where a prosecutor suggested the pair could still pose a threat.“The defendant was part...

Boston ‘Straight Pride Parade’ organizer Mark Sahady jailed, Natick politician Sue Ianni free following arrests for US Capitol siege

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