More board members resign from RI Heritage Hall of Fame after vote to induct Michael Flynn

The fallout continues from the vote earlier this month by a board aligned with the state's "Historian Laureate" Patrick Conley to induct retired U.S. Army lieutenant general − and former President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser − Michael Flynn into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.

There are now eight confirmed resignations from the Hall of Fame board in protest over the vote to induct Flynn, which Conley has cast as a chance to "vindicate" the Rhode Island native in his home state.

Flynn was pardoned by then-President Donald Trump after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia during the transition period before Trump's 2017 inauguration.

That part of Flynn's history − and more − led to two more resignations this week, in addition to the six who resigned within 24 hours of the December 14 vote to formally induct Flynn at a ceremony this spring into the R.I. Heritage Hall of Fame.

Past inductees run the gamut from Samuel Slater, an industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution," to former House Speaker John Harwood, a current member of the Hall of Fame board, to the late Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci, Providence's infamous rogue mayor, and even Conley's wife, Gail Cahalan-Conley.

Conley defends the inclusion of Flynn

Defending the choice, Conley – who was last reappointed as the state's honorary and unpaid "historian laureate" in 2020 by then-Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea – told The Journal: "Flynn did not commit high treason, espionage, sedition, or any high crime."

"Flynn was illegally surveilled by the outgoing Obama administration ... set-up without benefit of counsel by two agents from a weaponized FBI .... [then] tried and convicted by a biased media," Conley said.

Two more members of the board resign

The two latest resignations from the Hall of Fame board came this week from retired University of Rhode Island Professor Roberta Feather and John Parrillo, who has taught history at Salve Regina University, according to the Hall of Fame website.

In a resignation letter obtained by The Journal, Parrillo said he was "saddened to the core" by the vote to induct a man with Flynn's "politics and far-right militaristic vision for America" and by the board's unwillingness to reconsider in response to the "huge outcry."

"For the last seven years, it has been my [privilege] to nominate at least seven Rhode Islanders into our RI Hall of Fame. A fresco painter. A Naval historian. A Hollywood film-maker. Two creators of a music festival. An early father of the American Industrial Revolution and the creator of at least 14 Black colleges," he wrote.

"With a most heavy heart," he said, he now feels compelled to resign, his work unfinished.

In her own Dec. 26 letter of resignation, Feather said she was reluctant to resign immediately, choosing to wait a while "to see if the remaining Board members ... would take appropriate action to correct this egregious error of judgment, but it appears the board will do no such thing."

"Their short sightedness may have destroyed the Hall of Fame. Respect and credibility has disappeared," she wrote.

More: The RI Heritage Hall of Fame voted to induct Gen. Michael Flynn. Now, members are resigning.

"Mr. Flynn is not worthy of vindication," she added, in response to Conley's statements to The Journal.

"Lying to the FBI about his communications with Russian agents is not right or moral under any circumstance and undeserving of vindication. Neither is proposing to have the military confiscate all voting machines in certain jurisdictions or stating that military coups are acceptable," she wrote.

"Mr. Flynn will not decline this prestigious award," she predicted. "After all, he did nothing wrong and should be rewarded because he is a victim. Come to his party!" she wrote wryly.

Feather, who taught in URI's College of Nursing, described the vote to induct Flynn as a last straw, amid mounting concerns about a disregard of by-laws, the removal of board members who have raised questions about the way the Hall of Fame operates and what she described as "abusive" and "sexist behavior" by Conley towards her.

Conley has not yet responded to her allegation that he, at an executive committee meeting where Feather fought in vain for her own nominee – former First Lady Stephanie Chafee – to get a vote, called Feather a "stupid (expletive)." Attempts to reach Conley via email at an address he used to communicate with The Journal on Dec. 20, his home number and other phone numbers he lists for himself on his online resumé were unsuccessful.

Feather previously called for the resignation of the board president, Lawrence Reid, who has not responded to her or to Journal inquiries.

In addition to Feather and Parrillo, those who have resigned from the Hall of Fame board since the Flynn vote include prominent lawyer John Tarantino, former Sen. Bea Lanzi, former Rep. Denise Aiken, former TV anchor/reporter Steve Aveson, former Cranston Mayor John O'Leary and the board's recent treasurer, Ann Marie Maguire.

In a conversation with The Journal, Ann Marie Maguire called the Flynn vote a last straw amid her own mounting concerns about the haphazard way financial records are kept, the way she felt she was treated after voting against the induction of Conley's wife, Gail, into the Hall of Fame, and what she perceived as Reid's move to limit debate over nominees.

"Reid announced that he was the only voice that counted; no [vetting] committee would exist," said Maguire, describing herself as a one-time and now former "Trump fan."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI Heritage Hall of Fame loses more members over Michael Flynn vote