Albany, OR. — During Saturday’s “No Kings” protest event in Albany, former Linn County GOP Chair and local community activist Ben Roche was live streaming as he engaged with protest participants. He came across Albany City Councilor Michael Thomson and began engaging with him. Shortly into the exchange Councilor Thomson told Roche “I’m about ready to punch you in the face”, to which Roche replied “Are you really? You realize I’m live streaming right now on What’s Up Albany?” (a local area Facebook group) and Thompson stated “Yes. Hey everyone who’s on What’s Up Albany.” “This guy took photos of my daughter off social media”, Roche responded “the photos that you posted on your social media.” The exchange continued briefly before Roche moved on recording the demonstration. Roche’s videos of the full livestream and interaction with Thomson are below.
RNO reached out Councilor Thomson and Mayor Alex Johnson II for comment.
As of the time of publication on 10/20/2025 Mayor Johnson had not responded to the request for comment.
Councilor Thomson provided the following statement in writing:
I know Ben and he knows me. Ben is not a neutral actor in this. I don’t believe the shared video shows the degree to which he was inciting myself and others. My history with Ben goes back to a couple of years ago when Ben used Facebook photos of my daughter in a negative during a campaign. It upset me as I imagine it would upset any parent. This is all an issue between Ben Roche and I. Nothing more.
I have spent years on Boards and Commissions and interacted with numerous Albany residents with respect and patience. I will continue to do so.
Ben Roche provided the following written statement when contacted by RNO:
While live-streaming the public demonstration in downtown Albany today, I encountered City Councilor Michael Thomson. When I attempted to ask a few questions, he was reluctant to engage and instead threatened me with bodily harm saying he was ‘about ready to punch me in the face.’ ending with a mumbling expiative that I would not be permitted to repeat in a public meeting.
I intend to file a formal complaint with the City of Albany regarding this behavior. No elected official should ever respond to a citizen’s questions with intimidation or threats of violence.
I support our First Amendment right to free expression and open dialogue, but that freedom ends the moment words become a call to violence.
The issue surrounding Mr. Roche’s sharing of pictures including Mr. Thomson’s daughter also became a point of contention in the discussion on social media. Mr. Roche wrote the following about the issue in a post accompanying a substack article he wrote about the situation.
Let’s clear something up before the spin starts.
Today, during a live stream in downtown Albany, I was threatened by City Councilor Michael Thomson — yes, the same one who’s already been cited twice by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission for violating public meeting law. This isn’t speculation — those are official OGEC case numbers 21-125XSM and 23-052XHM, both confirmed violations.
But according to Thomson, he’s the victim. He wants people to believe that his violent outburst was somehow about “protecting” his daughter — a claim that doesn’t hold water for one simple reason: I have never taken, shared, or saved any photos of his child or anyone else’s.
What I did share, years ago, were his own publicly available Facebook posts showing him participating in political protests — because he was running for public office and voters deserved to see who he really was and what he stood for. That’s called accountability, not harassment.
And for the record — I’m not playing the victim here. I’ve been in Oregon politics long enough to have a thick skin. But when an elected city councilor loses control in public, threatens physical violence, and starts hiding behind his family as an excuse, that’s not “defending” anyone — that’s deflection.
Frankly, I feel sorry for his daughter. She’s the one who has to live with someone this unstable, this angry, and this unqualified to represent a city that deserves calm, competent leadership.
The citizens of Albany deserve better than another round of excuses from a man who’s already proven he can’t handle transparency or pressure. If this is how Michael Thomson reacts to a few questions on a sidewalk, how is he supposed to make decisions for 57,000 people?
He’s unfit, unhinged, and after today’s behavior — he needs to resign from the Albany City Council.
We’ve all seen where unchecked anger and political entitlement lead. It’s time for cooler heads, calmer leadership, and actual accountability.
Albany deserves that.
— Ben Roche
Full Live Stream: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19gGzDZ2Hu
Clip of the interaction with Councilman Thomson made by Mr. Roche.
On 10/20/2025 at the opening of the Albany City Council meeting Mr. Thomson apologized to “the Albany public and especially my fellow council members” but did not include Roche in his apology. He opened the statement saying “on Saturday during an event downtown I was approached by someone I know well who likes to try to get reactions from folks that he can later use against them on social media. After asking him repeatedly to move along I lost my composure and said some words that I sincerely regret and that are out of my character.” The full statement is shown in the video below.
Editor’s Note: RNO syndicates some of Mr. Roche’s opinion pieces from time to time, he is an independent writer.
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