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Middlesex DA Re-Evaluating Cases Involving Woburn Cop With Alleged Ties To 2017 Race Rally

The Middlesex District Attorney announced on Friday, Oct. 14, that her office would re-evaluate every criminal case — open, closed, or pending — in which Woburn Police Officer John Donnelly was involved. The Woburn Police Department put the 33-year-old on paid administrative leave this week after reports linked him to helping plan the controversial "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017 that featured neo-Nazi groups, white nationalists, and the Ku Klux Klan. 

Woburn police officer John Donnelly, right, acts as security for the alt-right leader Richard Spencer in a behind-the-scenes video from 2017's Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, Va.

Woburn police officer John Donnelly, right, acts as security for the alt-right leader Richard Spencer in a behind-the-scenes video from 2017's Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, Va.

Photo Credit: The Red Mage YouTube Video

DA Marian Ryan tweeted that the allegations against Donnelly "tear at the fabric of trust between communities and the police departments that serve them." 

In a YouTube video titled "Behind the scenes footage of 'Unite the Right' white nationalist rally in Charlottesville VA Part 10" from The Red Mage, a man who appears to be Donnelly acts as Richard Spencer's security. Spencer is a white nationalist that the Southern Poverty Law Center calls a "professional racist in khakis."

“What was said and done in Charlottesville is in direct opposition to the core values of the Woburn Police Department, to serve all members of our community equally and treat them with dignity and respect,” Woburn Police Chief Rufo said. “Should this allegation be sustained, the Woburn Police Department will ask Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission to decertify Officer Donnelly, ensuring he may no longer serve in law enforcement in Massachusetts.”

Donnelly was a reserve officer at the time of the Charlottesville rally. Since then, he's become a full-time officer and a real estate agent for Century 21 in the Woburn area. 

The group Ignite The Right, which is dedicated to unmasking the people behind the 2017 rally that left one woman dead, provided information to the Huffington Post, which broke the story about Donnelly's alleged involvement. 

"We do not forgive," the group's website says. "We do not forget."

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