For the first time in city history, a safety concern canceled a Tempe City Council meeting Thursday night, officials said in a written statement.
In a Thursday statement, Tempe officials said a "safety issue" threatened meeting attendees, city staff and City Council members. An investigation by the Tempe Police Department is underway.
City staff learned of the issue shortly before 6 p.m., according to the press release and another statement published Friday. According to the Friday press release, the meeting was rescheduled for Sept. 2 and will be held virtually as police evaluate the security of the City Council chambers.
Bobby Nichols, a candidate for Tempe City Council, and Dillon Wild, co-chair of Phoenix Democratic Socialists of America, were in attendance when the meeting was canceled.
According to the meeting schedule, an executive session of the City Council was held at 4 p.m. and a Tempe Housing Authority meeting was held at 5:30 p.m. in the Council chambers. After the Housing Authority meeting, City Council members did not return to the chamber for the regular meeting, Nichols said.
Attendees were already gathered in City Council chambers around 6:20 p.m. when a police official notified them there was a threat and everyone had to leave the room, Nichols said.
After leaving City Hall, Nichols was at a table gathering signatures for his candidacy. There was a high police presence outside the building, he said.
In the Friday statement, Tempe Assistant Police Chief James Sweig addressed the situation.
"The concern was specific in nature and credible enough that we could not in good conscience proceed with the meeting," Sweig said. "Out of respect for the investigation, we will not release all details, but the decision was made with community safety in mind."
Wild said Phoenix DSA condemns any threats that may have been made.
"We want a political process that's safe and works for everybody," Wild said.
Nichols said he was disappointed that a City Council meeting had to be canceled for safety reasons for the first time in Tempe history.
"We had a great streak going there, it seems like," Nichols said. "It would be ideal to continue having safe conversations in Tempe, because we need to have the ability to discuss these things democratically and respect the democratic process."
The meeting's agenda included a motion to potentially reconsider Ordinance No. O2025.25, a controversial rule regarding event requirements passed in July. On Aug. 19, Phoenix DSA announced in an Instagram post that a referendum repealing the ordinance received enough signatures to appear on Tempe residents' ballots in March 2026, if City Council members vote to put it on the ballot.
READ MORE: Tempe defends controversial ordinance changing event permit requirements
"When we saw that it had been placed on the agenda to consider rescinding the ordinance, we saw a real opportunity to engage in good-faith conversation with the mayor and with Council about a new process," Wild said. "When these kinds of threats happen in our community, it gets in the way of these conversations happening."
This story is developing and may be updated.
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 5:48 p.m. to include a quote from Tempe Assistant Police Chief James Sweig, details about the Sept. 2 meeting and additional context.
Edited by Senna James, Sophia Braccio and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at coyer1@asu.edu and follow @carstenoyer on X.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on X.
Carsten Oyer is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication, as well as public service and public policy. This is his second semester with The State Press, having previously worked as a politics reporter.
