ICYMI: Cognetti’s Criminal Appointee Causes Citywide Lockdown
In case you missed it, Democrat Paige Cognetti’s handpicked appointee to Scranton’s Human Relations Commission was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, harassment, and criminal trespassing after he caused a citywide lockdown.
This isn’t the first time Cognetti’s personal choice for city government has been in legal trouble: in 2023 he was charged with resisting arrest and trespassing.
“Out of touch Democrat Paige Cognetti’s poor judgement and weak leadership make her unfit to hold either of the two offices she’s currently running for. Pennsylvanians know they can’t trust Cognetti.” – NRCC Spokesman Reilly Richardson
Read more from the Scranton Times-Tribunehere or see excerpts below:
Member of the city’s Human Relations Commission faces multiple charges
Geraldine Gibbons
The Scranton Times-Tribune
September 20, 2025
A Scranton man who trespassed on West Scranton High School property Friday and later assaulted a Geisinger employee attempting to help him during a mental health crisis, faces multiple charges which include aggravated assault, according to a criminal complaint.
Michael Villa, 29, of 703 Pittston Ave., who sits on the city’s Human Relations Commission, allegedly showed up at the school requesting a tour. When he was denied, he began acting erratically and staff became concerned for building safety, the complaint continued.
Scranton police officers immediately responded at the school, but Villa already left.
It was then that the district put all of its buildings on a brief lockdown while law enforcement searched for Villa, because they were unaware of his intentions, police said.
After being taken into custody by city police and being transported to Geisinger Community Medical Center for a mental health evaluation, Villa threw his cell phone a security guard’s head, according to the complaint.
Villa’s co-workers said he seemed to become increasingly unstable in recent weeks, according to a affidavit accompanying a search warrant request for his vehicle. They said Villa slammed doors, punched things and spoke incoherently.
At one point, he was overheard referencing Charlie Kirk, the recently slain conservative activist, saying, “It’s our time to rise. It’s our time to stand up,” according to the affidavit.
He also stated that he enjoyed shooting his firearm and liked taking it apart.
According to the affidavit, a protection from abuse order was issued against Villa on Sept. 16, which required he relinquish all firearms. Villa, however, did not turn over his guns, police said.
[…]
Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, with unanimous approval from Scranton City Council, appointed Villa to the Scranton Human Relations Commission in November of 2022. He replaced former commissioner Teresa Osbourne, who resigned earlier that month.
[…]
Villa’s recent charges, which also include harassment and criminal trespass on school property, are not the first time he’s been in legal trouble.
In August of 2023, he was sentenced to six months of probation for resisting arrest, fleeing or attempting to elude an officer and defiant trespassing, public records show.