Bridgeport City Councilwoman Maria Pereira is due back in court after police arrested her during a contentious public hearing over school bus parking rules, charging her with disorderly conduct about two hours into a meeting that stretched on for two and a half hours. The Sept. 17 confrontation unfolded as Pereira, who represents the city's Upper East Side, tried to defend an ordinance she spearheaded that bans large commercial vehicles, including school buses, from parking on residential streets.
According to CTPost, Pereira and her allies were outnumbered at the meeting by school bus drivers and their supporters, who packed the room to push back against the parking ban. Police Chief Roderick Porter said in a statement that Pereira became involved in a verbal dispute with another person in attendance and allegedly issued a verbal threat against that individual. Porter said police and supervisors at the scene determined probable cause existed for an arrest on a disorderly conduct charge, and Pereira was issued a misdemeanor summons and released.
The woman who complained to officers was Angelina Van Norden, who had rallied opposition to the bus parking rules and told police Pereira threatened to beat her up. Van Norden said she was speaking with a constituent of Pereira's when the dispute broke out. Pereira offered a different account in a Facebook message, saying she only exchanged insults with Van Norden and claiming Van Norden lied to police about being threatened. Pereira also said in the same message that she filed an internal affairs complaint against the arresting officer.
A City Ordinance Already Dividing the Council
The parking fight traces back to a city ordinance that took effect in August 2026, restricting tractor-trailers and other large commercial vehicles from parking on residential public streets, with violators facing a $250 fine and possible towing after 24 hours, according to Only In Bridgeport. City leaders had hoped the rule would ease neighborhood quality-of-life complaints, but it instead put commercial and school bus drivers squarely at odds with Pereira over where they're allowed to park.
The Sept. 17 hearing was held before the City Council's Ordinance Committee, co-chaired by Councilwoman Eneida Martinez, who has publicly supported carving out an exemption for school bus drivers — putting her directly at odds with Pereira's position. Per the same outlet, Pereira has threatened to sue the City of Bridgeport if the council votes to grant bus drivers that exemption, a threat that remains unresolved as the committee continues weighing the policy.
Disorderly conduct in Connecticut is a Class C misdemeanor under state law, carrying a maximum penalty of up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $500, according to Justia Law.
Election Fraud Case Still Looms Over Pereira
The bus parking arrest is far from Pereira's only legal entanglement. She faces separate, unrelated absentee ballot charges stemming from a state investigation into ballot misuse during Bridgeport's 2023 Democratic mayoral primary, and has pleaded not guilty to 20 counts of misrepresenting eligibility requirements, four counts of being present when an absentee ballot applicant executes a ballot, five counts of restricted possession of ballots and envelopes, and second-degree forgery, per CTPost's reporting.
The Connecticut Office of the Chief State's Attorney criminally charged Pereira on Feb. 21, 2025, alongside four other political figures following that investigation. Second-degree forgery, the most serious count she faces, is a Class D felony under Connecticut law punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000, according to FindLaw.
As of August 2026, several co-defendants in the ballot fraud case had already entered guilty pleas or requested jury trials, but Pereira remained the sole defendant who had not yet decided whether to accept a plea offer or proceed to trial, according to CT Mirror. Despite the pending felony charges, Pereira won her September 2025 Democratic primary to retain her 138th District council seat, receiving 335 total votes, 178 of them cast via absentee ballot, per CT Examiner.
A Pattern of Clashes With Police and Colleagues
The bus meeting arrest also fits a broader pattern involving Pereira and law enforcement. She was previously arrested at the JFK Campus polling location during the November 2023 municipal election and charged with third-degree assault following an altercation with a 70-year-old woman, according to News 12 Long Island.
City Council leadership had also stripped Pereira of her committee assignments after an email controversy in which she referred to Chief Porter as a “pig” and officers as “piglets,” as reported by Fox 61. Whether Pereira ultimately follows through on her threatened lawsuit over the bus parking exemption, and whether she takes a plea deal or heads to trial on the election fraud charges, remain open questions as the fall wears on.
