Mayor Joseph Petty confirmed on Wednesday morning that he insulted hundreds of protestors inside City Hall who were delaying the start of a city council meeting Tuesday night.

The mayor had invited hundreds of people from around the region to peacefully protest outside City Hall a recent immigration ban enacted by President Donald Trump. But some of those protestors took the protest inside City Hall just as the meeting was set to start. Petty's frustration with being unable to start the meeting was caught on mic.

The mayor Wednesday issued a statement apologizing, saying that he was "caught in a moment of frustration."

Petty began to start the council meeting, but had to announce a break as the crowd began chanting "Show me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!" after storming the corridors of City Hall following a rally that attracted nearly 1,000 people.



"Freakin' morons," he could be heard saying. "Morons, morons, morons."



When that cheer finished, Petty said, "they got that out of their system."

The protester's chants were delaying the start of the City Council meeting.

"First of all, let me apologize for my remarks. I had just witnessed a thousand people outside city hall delivering a positive and respectful message, and I did not want their voices to be lost. For anyone who has been caught on a hot mic, it's embarrassing. I was caught in a moment of frustration and I was wrong," Petty wrote in a statement.

The comments heard on the hot mic were a stark contrast of statements Petty made during the protest and in the council chamber in support of Worcester's immigrants.

"I want to thank all the people for coming out tonight," Petty said later during the council meeting. "You made Worcester proud."

Before the city council meeting, Petty spoke to the gathered crowd outside City Hall, saying that Worcester is a welcoming city.

"We're going to protect all of our people here in Worcester, whether they're here documented or undocumented," Petty said.

Last week, the president signed an executive order temporarily banning Muslims from seven countries from traveling to the United States. This ban led to many refugees, green card holders and other travelers being detained at airports or booted off of flights.

The rally was also meant to target more local anti-immigration sentiment by calling on demonstrators to reject Councilor-at-Large Michael Gaffney's recent City Council proposal to seek clarification on Worcester's status as a sanctuary city.