Connecticut's first black Congresswoman is left shaken after racist trolls hijack her Zoom campaign event to bombard her with vile messages

Congresswoman Jahana Hayes has been left shaken after one of her online campaign events was hijacked by racist trolls. 

On Monday night, Hayes hosted a town hall meeting via Zoom as she seeks reelection to represent Connecticut's 5th Congressional district. 

The 47-year-old former teacher, who is the first black Congresswoman from Connecticut, had set up the digital space to talk with constituents ahead of the November 3 election. 

However, around 10 minutes into the event, Hayes was bombarded with racist messages sent via the Zoom meeting's chat board.

'Shut up n*****. Go pick cotton,' one troll wrote. 

Several other participants left pro-Trump messages for the Democratic Rep. 

Congresswoman Jahana Hayes has been left shaken after an online campaign event was hijacked by racist trolls on Monday night 

On Tuesday, Hayes tweeted screenshots of the racist messages and wrote: 'So sorry the town Newtown had to endure this zoom bombing'

On Tuesday, Hayes tweeted screenshots of the racist messages and wrote: 'So sorry the town Newtown had to endure this zoom bombing . 

'During our mtg these ppl continued to call me the N-word, play derogatory music & flood the chat with comments like this. This behavior is being normalized! We can ALL choose not to accept it. Please vote on Nov 3rd'. 

A representative from Zoom subsequently posted to Twitter: 'We are deeply upset to hear about this and we take the privacy of Zoom Meetings very seriously.' 

 The incident is reportedly being investigated. 

Hayes' campaign manager told the Associated Press that they have not yet learned whether the people who interrupted the Zoom event have been identified.

On Wednesday, Hayes went on to post an essay about the incident to Medium. 

She described the messages she receives as 'vile, disgusting, dare I say deplorable, hate'.

'Many will question why I would post something so raw and offensive? It is because I realized in that moment that I am not ok. I am not ok that this happened. I am not ok, that this is not the first time this has happened in my life or that I've had to explain that this happens,' Hayes wrote in the essay.  

Hayes is a mother-of-four and former teacher who was elected to Congress in 2018. She is pictured with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

After the disrupters were removed from the meeting, Hayes said in her essay she apologized to the remaining participants and finished talking about her legislative work and her campaign. But she acknowledged being rattled.

'Black women are expected to press on, to ignore this behavior; to not talk explicitly about it because it is uncomfortable, divisive or does not reflect the sentiments of most people,' she wrote. 'I have watched other women weather this storm and fend off these types of attacks and wonder if in their quiet places they have felt what I am feeling right now.' 

Hayes' Republican opponent, David X. Sullivan, condemned the incident.

'It is appalling that a bigoted coward would direct insults at Congresswoman Hayes, interfere and disrupt a legitimate campaign activity, and besmirch the reputation of the good people of the 5th District of Connecticut,' Sullivan posted on Twitter.

Hayes is a mother-of-four and former teacher who was elected to Congress in 2018. 

Hayes described the messages she receives as 'vile, disgusting, dare I say deplorable, hate'