Carrollton teacher hopes that Michigan lawmaker ‘chokes on a bag of [expletive] and dies’

This article contains partially expunged profane, vulgar and obscene language.

A Carrollton Public Schools teacher delivered a threatening and profanity-laced speech during a Bay City commissioners meeting earlier this week.

Michigan Capitol Confidential confirmed with multiple sources that the speaker is Matthew Sylvester, a history teacher at Carrollton Public Schools. During the meeting, Sylvester launched into a three-minute tirade criticizing the Trump administration, Elon Musk and local officials.

During the public comment period at the April 7 city commission meeting, Sylvester said Musk was “destroying the jobs and livelihoods of fellow countrymen.”

He accused the Trump administration of crimes amounting to “fascism and monstrous apathy.”

Sylvester also criticized former Vice President Kamala Harris. She “tried to run to the right of Trump on certain issues like immigration,” he said. The public school teacher compared recent deportations to “supporting the genocide in Gaza.”

Sylvester concluded his comments by insulting Rep. Timmy Beson, R-Bay City, who, he said, blackmailed Mayor Chris Girard into vetoing a resolution that would have barred the city from cooperating with federal immigration officials. The mayor said in a statement that the allegation was false.

“Jesus F--- Christ, who the f--- blackmails our city? I don’t know who Timmy Benson [sic] is, but I hope he chokes on a bag of d--- and dies,” Sylvester said.

Sylvester’s language was out of bounds, Beson told CapCon

“A big part of my job as a state representative is to communicate things that are happening in Lansing with our local leaders, and that’s exactly what I did in this situation by sharing my concerns with the mayor of Bay City,” Beson wrote. “There is no place for that kind of language in civil discourse, and certainly not in our public schools.”

Corey DeAngelis, a visiting fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, first shared a video of Sylvester’s remarks on April 9, on the social media platform X.

DeAngelis also posted screenshots from a meeting showing the commissioners approved the resolution. Girard, the mayor, vetoed the resolution, and an attempt to override it fell short by one vote.

Carrollton Public Schools cannot comment about personnel matters, Superintendent Tiffany Peterson told Dave Bondy, digital and video content manager at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Sylvester did not return a message seeking comment.

Earlier this year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said that just 24% of 4th graders can read proficiently and 24% of 8th graders are proficient in math. Michigan continues to spend more money but gets worse results, CapCon has reported.

Michigan Department of Education