Chief Patrick Molloy of the Abington Township Police Department shared with Glenside Local several clarifications regarding an article published by Abington Patch on Thursday, August 14.
The article begins with a claim that three township residents (Joseph Rooney, Lora Lehman, and Adele Kubel) “speak out the most at Abington Township Board of Commissioners meetings.” The article also claims that board president Thomas Hecker previously told Patch that “We have three people of all of our residents who disrupt our meetings.”
The bulk of the article centers around Kubel, who “is one of the first to speak, usually repeating similar issues of blight in the township, pedestrian and bicycle safety, and government decisions,” the author writes, noting that Kubel “often receives the gavel from Hecker before her three minutes expire and is warned by township officials, sometimes with police officers approaching toward her in case the situation escalates.”
In July, two police officers delivered a letter to her home during a wellbeing checkup and a response to a neighbor’s concern for her dogs during an extreme heat wave, Chief Molloy said.
The letter, which is dated July 16, says that she is being charged with violating Section 5508 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code — Disrupting Meetings and Processions. An excerpt:
On behalf of the Abington Township Police Department, I am writing to formally address your persistent disruptive conduct during the Board of Commissioners Meeting held on July 10, 2025.
While we recognize and will always protect your First Amendment right to free speech, we also have a responsibility to address disruptive behavior. Regrettably, your behavior has become increasingly more disruptive over the past several weeks, and despite repeated warnings, you continued with disruptive outbursts.
The full letter is below:
Kubel told Patch that she is “monitored and blocked from conversations with everyone at board meetings. Videos demonstrate that I am treated with scorn. Deception is the accepted practice. I am a hinderance to orchestrated board meetings that are designed to flatter commissioners. Abington commissioners do not value, and encourage public engagement or free speech.”
Mr. Rooney, in an email to township manager Christopher Christman and Chief Molloy, states:
I was dismayed when I read the Patch article today that the township has decided to further harass Adele Kubel. With all that is going on in the township the idea that we are wasting valuable Police time on harassing Adele is sad.
There are lots of disruptive things that go on during our meetings: Commissioners do not show up for meetings, commissioners show up late and interrupt meetings. Commissioners fall asleep during meetings, Commissioners can be seen surfing the internet on their cell phones during meetings, should I go on?
The commission president does a poor job running meetings; the township response should not be to sic the police on a concerned citizen. Our police should not be involved with the public comment section of our meetings. They are in the room for public safety concerns only. This is a leadership failure. This is wrong.
I salute Adele as she tirelessly works to clean up our township, holds our commissioners to account and demands better from our township employees.
Respectfully,
Joe Rooney
PS If Tom Hecker told the reporter that Lora Lehman and I disrupt township meetings, then I would like to see the proof of that statement. If there is no proof then I expect a public retraction and apology.
Chief Molloy responded by saying that “Unfortunately, there were extenuating circumstances that prevented us from responding to the reporter’s email prior to publication.” The response notes that “Collectively, we have spent hundreds of hours trying to assist Ms Kubel, and no matter what we proposed, she was not satisfied. Over the last several months, we have received complaints from Township staff and an elected official. In these complaints, Ms Kubel approached our complainants either at their home and on their personal property or while they were out shopping.”
Chief Molloy’s email also clarifies the reason for the officers’ appearance at Kubel’s home:
Our department had received multiple complaints about dogs barking in a home that was completely closed with no air air-conditioning. The officers who responded are assigned to our community policing division. Both of these officers are responsible for neighbor dispute mediation, and wanted to make sure that the barking dog complaints were not a result of any ongoing issue. They were also there to check the well-being of Ms Kubel.
“We wanted to avoid charging her and provide her with the proper guidance. When we see people showing signs of emotional distress, our trained crisis mediators often intervene,” Chief Molloy told Glenside Local.
The email from Chief Molloy to Mr. Rooney continues:
In each of these cases, the elected official, and the staff members reported that she was agitated and abusive. At least two of these individuals perceived her behavior as threatening, and they did not feel safe. With regard to the claim that showing up at her door was excessive, this simply is not the case.
In the past, we have had other members of our community policing division, including our social worker reach out to see if we could provide any resources to help her. In each case, she refused. Not only did she refuse, she became angry and abusive at the mirror [sic: mere] suggestion that she needed help. When we make decisions to put people on notice or otherwise initiate a charge, it comes after consider, considering the totality of the circumstances. My officers and I have exhibited extraordinary patience…. I believe our elected officials are doing their best to listen to her, and they also have been patient. I understand the role of the police department and our authority to act under the color of law, especially when redressing are elected officials…. I can recall asking you to assist me one time at a meeting when Ms Kubel was again of control, refusing to cooperate and continuing to disrupt the meeting. This letter that I prepared and was delivered to her should have come weeks ago. In Abington, our officers use discretion and do everything we can to avoid bringing somebody to court. And you are correct, we are there for public safety, and the irrational and escalating behavior of Ms Kubel is concerning. We have seen unprovoked acts of violence against elected officials, and our oath requires that we be proactive and do everything we can to prevent this. I know you may think that this is not a possibility, but our elected officials are legitimately concerned for their safety. I will be at the meeting tonight, and I would love to talk to you further about this. Also, since you have a good rapport and relationship with Ms Kubel, perhaps you could assist or otherwise intervene when she appears to become agitated… Disruptive… Etc. I look forward to talking to you… Sorry for the long email and also I’m using Siri so excuse typos.
“We have not filed any charges yet,” Chief Molloy told Glenside Local. “At the end of the day, we want these meetings to remain civil. If we had no constraints or time limits, the meetings would be out of control. We know that she has some legitimate concerns, and we’ve asked her to try to take a different approach.”
“When she makes making claims about personal corruption, we ask her to be civil and controlled when making her points,” Chief Molloy said. “We’re there for public safety. When we see people get increasingly more agitated, we fear that someone could lose it and commit acts of violence against elected officials. That reality exists, so we have to put ourselves in the shoes of those being threatened. Going forward, I would like Mrs. Kubel to follow the rules and discontinue the veiled threats. No elected official or staff member should have to deal with that.”
“Our elected officials and our staff certainly have a job to do. We understand that we work for our citizens, and we ought to be held accountable,” Chief Molloy continued. “But no elected official or civil servant should be subjected to personal attacks and harassment while on duty or out in the community while they are at home or shopping. We are living in an environment that has become increasingly more divisive, and we have witnessed acts of violence against elected officials in the past. We understand that Ms. Kubel is passionate and cares about our community. We are simply asking her to remain civil, follow the rules, and try to control her emotional and disruptive outbursts. Her behavior has caused unnecessary alarm and fear for some staff members and elected officials.”
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