Woburn woman surrounded and harassed in McDonald’s parking lot by Trump supporters, she tells police

Police are investigating after a Woburn woman said a group of young men surrounded her car in a McDonald’s parking lot, temporarily preventing her from driving away and hurling insults at her due to her support for Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Keri Rodrigues stopped by the McDonald’s on Montvale Avenue in Woburn on Sunday evening on her way home from Massachusetts General Hospital. She went through the drive-through, and was sitting in her car in the parking lot eating some french fries around 8:30 p.m. when the incident took place, she said. 

As Rodrigues went to drive away, her car was suddenly surrounded by a group of young men that she estimated were between the ages of 18 and 22, she told police. Unprovoked, they yelled expletives about a Harris sticker on Rodrigues’ car and about Trump’s recent victory. They also called her a “f—king lesbian” and made fun of her haircut, Rodrigues said. 

“I was kind of stunned for a minute, like, ‘What are they saying? Are we really doing this?’” she told Boston.com. 

Rodrigues, a political activist, said she has worked in politics for more than 20 years. She is the founder and president of the National Parents Union.  

She is also the mother of five boys, and said her instincts kicked in when her car was surrounded. She got out of her car, pulled her phone out, and attempted to take photos or videos of the group. They recognized what she was trying to do, and quickly jumped into a pickup truck and sped away, she said. Rodrigues said she could not activate her smartphone camera in time. 

“I’m just really disappointed that this is where we are in our political discourse, or just in the world right now,” she said. “This could’ve gone south. If I wasn’t a mom who was looking at these young adults as little boys, somebody could’ve gotten scared and hit the gas and somebody could’ve gotten hurt.”

On the way home, she called 911. Officers from the Woburn Police Department came to her home Sunday and interviewed her. They told Rodrigues they would file a police report, she said. Rodrigues is hoping they can access surveillance footage from the parking lot. 

When reached by phone Tuesday, Chief Robert F. Rufo, Jr. said that there is an ongoing investigation, but did not have any further updates. No other reports about the incident have been made aside from the initial one from Rodrigues, he said. 

Rodrigues made a TikTok video about the incident shortly afterwards. It has since been viewed tens of thousands of times. She wanted to go public for two reasons, she said. For one, Rodrigues said that people with political stickers on their vehicles should be vigilant for similar behavior. She also wanted to tell members of the public, and especially Trump supporters, to decrease tensions in the wake of the election. 

“Chill out. You guys won. I don’t know what people are so angry or upset about on the Trump side. Yeah, there are people who are heartbroken on the Harris side and people are processing their feelings, but no one is planning an insurrection,” she said. “I don’t understand this from the Trumpers, I really don’t get it.”

As a veteran of politics, Rodrigues emphasized that, win or lose, there needs to be common decency on all sides of the political spectrum. This kind of activity should be denounced by both Democrats and Republicans, she added. 

Rodrigues was also struck by the fact that the alleged harassment came from young, impressionable men. 

“Our kids are watching us,” she said. “We still have to be kind to one another.”

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