His comments were in response to a question from an audience member during a CNN town hall Monday. A Harvard student specifically asked about Tsarnaev in her question about Sanders’ support for enfranchising people convicted of crimes:

Pressley was responding to a flurry of headlines in the last week over Senator Bernie Sanders’ recent comments that people convicted of crimes, even serious ones, should still be allowed to vote while serving their sentences.

Representative Ayanna Pressley is pushing back against “pundits” who invoked Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a debate over voting rights for those who are incarcerated.


“Does this mean that you would support enfranchising people like the Boston Marathon bomber, a convicted terrorist murderer?” she asked.

Sanders defended his stance, arguing that the removal of voting rights for people convicted of specific crimes is a slippery slope.

“If somebody commits a serious crime . . . they’re gonna be punished,” Sanders said. “But I think the right to vote is inherent in our democracy, yes, even for terrible people.”

The reference to Tsarnaev sparked controversy and headlines in Boston and elsewhere. But in a series of Twitter posts, Pressley said those who are invoking Tsarnaev to advocate for the continued disenfranchisement of convicted felons are not arguing in good faith.

“Don’t dare invoke one of the darkest days of terrorism in MY city to stoke fear and derail a meaningful conversation about fundamental rights,” she wrote.

She pointed out that incarcerated felons weren’t explicitly banned from voting in Massachusetts until 2001, in response to reports that prisoners at MCI-Norfolk were planning to form a political action committee.

“They were calling for a more just system and humane treatment of those incarcerated. They were reaching for the ballot to fight modern day slavery,” Pressley wrote.


As someone who is acutely aware of the trauma caused by having a loved one in and out of prison, I am dedicated to fighting to change a criminal legal system that is fundamentally unjust: — Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) April 25, 2019

Pundits, if you want to talk about re-enfranchising folks let’s talk. Did you know in my state there wasn’t a law on the books that explicitly banned those incarcerated from voting until 2001? That law was a fearful response to those on the inside at MCI Norfolk ORGANIZING. — Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) April 25, 2019

They were calling for a more just system and humane treatment of those incarcerated. They were reaching for the ballot to fight modern day slavery. As a nation we are facing a mass incarceration crisis that destroys families and communities. — Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) April 25, 2019

Don’t dare invoke one of the darkest days of terrorism in MY city to stoke fear and derail a meaningful conversation about fundamental rights & what justice looks like for the 1000s of black & brown folks who are stripped of their liberty & civic participation for minor offenses. — Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) April 25, 2019

Christina Prignano can be reached at christina.prignano@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @cprignano.