A New Jersey Health Department official who was suddenly fired now says it was because he refused to provide tests for the relatives of Gov. Phil Murphy’s (D-NJ) top aide.
Christopher Neuwirth, the former assistant commissioner for the Division of Public Health, Infrastructure, Laboratories, and Emergency Preparedness, filed a whistleblower lawsuit saying he was fired because he thought it was unethical to use scarce resources on people connected to the governor’s office. The <a href="https://www.jerseyemploymentlawyers.com/files/neuwirth_complaint_filed_6-16-20.pdf">lawsuit</a>, obtained by NJ Advance Media, includes an email Neuwirth wrote to Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli’s chief of staff at the time he was asked to provide the testing.
“Clearly, we cannot say no, or advise them that this test doesn’t matter, and it’s a complete waste of an AC’s [(assistant commissioner’s) time to spend literally 6-hours collecting one specimen,” the email said, as <a href="https://www.nj.com/politics/2020/06/i-was-fired-after-denying-murphys-top-aide-coronavirus-tests-for-his-family-health-department-official-claims.html">reported</a> by NJ.com. “I’m sharing this with you simply for documentation and in case this continues to spiral out of control.”
As the outlet reported, Neuwirth was asked to provide the testing in April, when only those with COVID-19 symptoms were being tested due to a scarce supply of resources.
Neuwirth was terminated on May 28. At the time, media outlets reported that he had been fired for allegedly not reporting his side job and leaking confidential information to the media about the governor’s coronavirus report, NJ.com previously <a href="https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/05/fired-health-official-who-says-he-was-scapegoated-was-target-of-murphy-leak-probe-sources-say.html">reported</a>.
NJ Advance Media previously “obtained secretly recorded conversations with Persichilli, who indicated that Neuwirth was actually let go because the administration had become convinced that <a href="https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/06/secret-recordings-claim-health-official-was-fired-over-suspected-leaks-as-internal-investigation-heats-up.html">he was the one leaking confidential information to the press </a>about the state’s response to the coronavirus,” NJ.com reported.
Neuwirth now says in his lawsuit that neither of those things was the real reason he was fired. He also said his outside consulting work was mischaracterized, the outlet reported. He also denied leaking information to the press.
“Because I pursued an ethics complaint, I was terminated,” told the outlet through his attorney.
Neuwirth says in his lawsuit that he “received a phone call on April 24 from State Police Superintendent Patrick Callahan, who he claimed had told him that the governor’s chief of staff ‘needs a favor,’” NJ.com reported.
More from NJ.com:
<blockquote>The request was to have the assistant commissioner himself, or a member of his staff, go to the home of unnamed relatives of Helmy in Bergen County and collect specimens for COVID-19 testing that weekend, through the Department of Heath’s Public Health and Environmental Laboratories.
“Fully understanding that the request for the ‘favor’ was coming from top-level people within the governor’s inner circle,” the complaint said Neuwirth told Callahan that he would look into the matter.
The following day, the complaint said Callahan again called and “angrily demanded” to find out why no one had yet contacted Helmy’s family members. Neuwirth responded that he had no staff available.
“So then, this is something you are going to do?” he said the State Police superintendent asked.</blockquote>
Neuwirth said he responded to the superintendent that he didn’t have a choice, yet he reportedly never conducted the testing.
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Phil Murphy

New Jersey Health Official Says He Was Fired For Refusing To Give Coronavirus Tests To Family Of Governor’s Top Aide

Coronavirus

COVID-19

New Jersey

whistleblower

An elderly woman was sent to the hospital and two others were injured when a deer slammed into protesters participating in a Black Lives Matter march in New Jersey.
The South Brunswick Police Department tweeted Friday that the South Brunswick March for Justice “drew hundreds of people to the rally and march,” during which “3 people were injured when a deer ran from the high school property into the marchers.”
“Officers working the event immediately provided medical aid until EMS arrived,” the SBPD added.
In another tweet, the SBPD reported that a “69 year old woman received a serious head injury and was take to an area hospital. She was in intensive care late Friday night,” while “Two others were treated on scene.”
The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/06/14/3-injured-after-deer-runs-into-protesters-in-new-jersey/">reported</a> that the incident happened around 5 p.m. on Friday along County Route 533 “as part of the town’s “March for Justice” in the wake of George Floyd’s police custody death, with a police escort leading the demonstrators.”
On Sunday, the police department said the elderly woman who was sent to the hospital had “improved.” 
“We continue to pray for her complete recovery,” the police added.
In addition to the three who were injured by the deer, Fox 5 NY <a href="https://www.fox5ny.com/news/deer-runs-into-black-lives-matter-marchers-in-nj-injuring-3-1-seriously">reported</a> that two more people “were treated for heat-related issues at the march and rally.”
The march and rally was one of dozens of gatherings that have sprung up across the United States in response to the police-involved death of Minneapolis man George Floyd. Floyd was in police custody when police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee to Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. Floyd repeatedly told officers he couldn’t breathe and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Though Chauvin was arrested and charged with 3rd-degree murder (later upgraded to 2nd-degree) and manslaughter within five days of Floyd’s death, protests and riots spread across America. Thousands have taken to the streets to protest police brutality, but the protests quickly turned from peaceful to violent in just about every major city where they began. Looting has occurred in multiple cities, while cars and businesses were set on fire. Police have been attacked with projectiles and weapons. A few officers have even been killed, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/retired-police-captain-was-murdered-while-protecting-his-friends-pawn-shop-during-riots-widow-says">including retired police Captain David Dorn</a>, 77, who was murdered while trying to defend his friend’s pawn shop from looters. In California, Federal Protective Service officer Dave Patrick Underwood, 53, was also killed.
Though the mainstream media continues to claim the protests are “mostly peaceful,” footage shows otherwise. Many of the rioters and their media and Democrat supporters have urged cities to “defund the police,” a move that is being considered in many areas, including Minneapolis, where Floyd died. Celebrities have also joined in on calling to defund or abolish the police.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Deer

Deer Injures 3 Protesters During Black Lives Matter March In New Jersey

animals

Black Lives Matter

On Monday, Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy threatened gym owners and their patrons not to re-open again on Tuesday after the fitness center opened Monday in defiance of the Democrat&#8217;s lockdown order.
“If you show up at that gym again tomorrow, there’s going to be a different reality than showing up today,&#8221; Murphy said during a presser on Monday, specifically talking about South Jersey&#8217;s Atilis Gym. &#8220;These aren’t just words.&#8221;
&#8220;We’ve got to enforce this,&#8221; he added, &#8220;but I also don’t want to start World War III.&#8221;
However, the threat wasn&#8217;t enough for Atilis Gym co-owners Ian Smith and Frank Trumbetti to tuck tail. The gym opened their doors again on Tuesday.
While patrons of the gym were let off with a warning and told to &#8220;have a nice day&#8221; from one Bellmawr officer on Monday, Murphy seemingly made sure his threats were at least somewhat heeded on Tuesday.
The owners were hit with municipal citations for disorderly conduct, as they were on Monday. But, additionally, five other people were similarly cited and another man was charged for organizing an anti-lockdown protest outside the gym, which is apparently against Murphy&#8217;s executive actions, <a href="https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/coronavirus/new-jersey-gym-cited-again-for-defying-state-shutdown-order-member-detained/2400835/">NBC Philadelphia</a> reported.
According to the outlet, New Jersey State Police Col. Patrick Callahan said Camden County prosecutors &#8220;are determining if charges will be filed for defying the governor&#8217;s order.&#8221; He noted that state officials are &#8220;aware&#8221; of the issued citations.
The gym, which is only operating at 20% capacity and has numerous coronavirus-related health measures in place, reportedly saw a &#8220;steady stream&#8221; of patrons throughout the day.
On Monday, the gym gained national media attention when an officer was captured on video letting off patrons with a warning, notably wishing them a &#8220;good day.&#8221;
“We are and only were here for everybody’s safety today,” the officer told the crowd, according to <a href="https://www.fox5ny.com/news/south-jersey-gym-reopens-in-defiance-of-governors-order-owners-cited">FOX 5 NY</a>. “We planned for the worst and hoped for the best, and it seems like that’s what we have out here today.”
“Formally, you are all in violation of the executive order. On that note, have a good day. Everybody be safe,” he added, sparking the crowd to erupt in loud cheers.
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“I expected this. I actually expected more than this,” gym co-owner Frank Trumbetti said, following the police warning, according to <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/bellmawr-gym-atillis-reopen-coronavirus-shutdown-phil-murphy-order-ian-smith-20200518.html">The Philadelphia Inquirer</a>. “We firmly believe that everything we are doing is constitutional. It’s our right, and we have not broken any laws.”
“I didn’t open up today to close tomorrow,” he added.
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“The measures that we took are well above and beyond,” co-owner Ian Smith explained. “We spread out the entire gym. Everything in the gym is more than six feet apart, including equipment. Every single person walking in the gym is going to have to follow instructions or leave.”
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The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.  
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-officer-refuses-to-enforce-democrat-govs-lockdown-order-at-re-opened-gym-angry-governor-responds">WATCH: Officer Refuses To Enforce Democrat Gov’s Lockdown Order At Re-Opened Gym; Angry Governor Responds</a>
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New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy

Democrat Gov Threatened Gym Not To Re-Open In Defiance Of Lockdown Order. They Did It Anyway. 

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On Monday, patrons of a New Jersey gym that opened in defiance of Democratic Governor Phil Murphy&#8217;s lockdown executive order were let off with a warning and told to &#8220;have a good day.&#8221;
&#8220;We are and only were here for everybody&#8217;s safety today,&#8221; an officer told those gathered at Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, according to <a href="https://www.fox5ny.com/news/south-jersey-gym-reopens-in-defiance-of-governors-order-owners-cited">FOX 5 NY</a>. &#8220;We planned for the worst and hoped for the best, and it seems like that&#8217;s what we have out here today.&#8221;
&#8220;Formally, you are all in violation of the executive order. On that note, have a good day. Everybody be safe,&#8221; the officer added, sparking the crowd to erupt with loud cheering.
The gym operated at a mere 20% capacity and with extra coronavirus precautions in place, including fever checks, and stayed open after the police visit.
&#8220;The measures that we took are well above and beyond,&#8221; Atilis Gym co-owner Ian Smith said, as noted by FOX 5. &#8220;We spread out the entire gym. Everything in the gym is more than six feet apart, including equipment. Every single person walking in the gym is going to have to follow instructions or leave.&#8221;
According to <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/bellmawr-gym-atillis-reopen-coronavirus-shutdown-phil-murphy-order-ian-smith-20200518.html">The Philadelphia Inquirer</a>, the owners were later issued municipal citations for disorderly conduct.
Current reporting indicates no patrons have been cited, though citizens were threatened by Camden County Prosecutor&#8217;s Office over the weekend that &#8220;anyone who patronizes a [&#8216;non-essential&#8217;] business that is open in violation of an executive order could face criminal charges in the form of a disorderly persons offense for which you could be fined up to $1,000 for each offense and spend up to six months in jail.&#8221;
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Gov. Murphy addressed the gym opening, warning more enforcement would be brought if the gym owners dare to open their business back up on Tuesday.
“I’m not concerned it will spiral out of control, and we will take action,” the Democrat said. “If you show up at that gym again tomorrow, there’s going to be a different reality than showing up today. These aren’t just words. We’ve got to enforce this, but I also don’t want to start World War III.”
The gym owners will not back down, however.
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“I expected this. I actually expected more than this,” said gym co-owner Frank Trumbetti, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. “We firmly believe that everything we are doing is constitutional. It’s our right, and we have not broken any laws.”
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“I didn’t open up today to close tomorrow,” he added.
Chuck Saulter, the borough&#8217;s mayor, commended both the police officers and the anti-lockdown protesters gathered outside Atilis Gym.
“With respect to the opening of Atilis Gym, from the start, this matter has been handled exclusively and appropriately by law enforcement, including our local police department,&#8221; Saulter told The Philadelphia Inquirer via an emailed statement. &#8220;I am proud of the manner in which the Bellmawr Police Department conducted themselves this morning as well as the respect shown toward our police officers by the general public.&#8221;
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WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;Formally, you are all in violation of the executive order.
On that note, have a good day, everybody be safe.&quot;⁰⁰
Police in Camden, New Jersey were cheered after they visited a New Jersey gym that opened in violation of <a href="https://twitter.com/GovMurphy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GovMurphy</a>’s orders. 
🎥: FOX 29 <a href="https://t.co/6osDYeSX3o">pic.twitter.com/6osDYeSX3o</a>
&mdash; Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) <a href="https://twitter.com/dcexaminer/status/1262437452402184192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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WATCH: Officer Refuses To Enforce Democrat Gov’s Lockdown Order At Re-Opened Gym; Angry Governor Responds

Police

Rik Mehta, a pharmacist and former FDA consumer safety officer from New Jersey, is seeking to replace failed presidential candidate Cory Booker as Senator from New Jersey. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, he feels his experience as a healthcare professional would benefit the nation if elected to public office.  He took the time to answer a few questions.
I was watching an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReI6ROZNbkk">interview</a> with Taiwan’s Vice President (and leading epidemiologist), Chen Chien-jen, with his alma mater the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. One of the things they said is that having elected officials with healthcare education and experience made a big difference in why Taiwan was so exceptionally successful in handling the COVID-19 outbreak. What is your take on that?
I agree 100%. Right now, we have a bunch of career politicians, like my opponent Senator Cory Booker, who do not understand the delivery of healthcare, the practice of medicine and are completely unequipped to deal with these issues. Senator Booker cares more about what sounds good on Twitter, than what policies actually work when dealing with a pandemic.
As a pharmacist and former public health official, I have tackled health crises firsthand. We need to get away from the partisan nonsense and do what is right by and for our citizens to control the pandemic and get Americans working again.
New Jersey&#8217;s former Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno says that NJ &#8220;has a long and proud history as the medicine chest of the world.&#8221; What is the situation today?
Unfortunately, the anti-business, anti-taxpayer policies in New Jersey have driven many of these businesses and jobs away. Senator Booker and his cronies in the NJ Legislature have made New Jersey non-competitive with our neighbors both here in the U.S. and globally. How can we expect companies to settle in our state when all they do is push higher taxes, more regulation, and make the state unaffordable for employees to live near their place of employment?
As New Jersey’s next U.S. senator, I will put America first and bring our medical manufacturing from overseas back to New Jersey. At the same time my policies will create thousands of jobs, reduce our tax appropriations spent on foreign manufacturing and lower the price of prescription drugs all while strengthening our national security.
You have been vocal about bringing the medical supply chain back to the United States. How? What about your opponent? Where does Senator Booker stand on this?
As I wrote in a recent <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/chinas-dominance-of-the-pharma-supply-chain-is-highly-dangerous-to-the-us">op-ed</a> on this subject, more than 80% of the ingredients necessary to make your medicine is sourced from China and other foreign countries. As unbelievable as it may sound, our factories have not made antibiotics in the United States in decades; it’s a far cry from World War II, when our plants produced life-saving penicillin helping our soldiers win the war. So, America’s reliance on foreign drug manufacturing has become a very real national security concern.
Under the Obama administration, China doubled its drug manufacturing facilities, while we closed ours. And, to make matters worse, Cory Booker supported legislation that would crush medical innovation in America. Months ago, I predicted that if China was forced to close itself down to combat the coronavirus pandemic, or at some point decided to interrupt the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain, it would create a major shortage of life-saving medicines. And indeed, last month, the FDA reported the first supply chain disruption.
My plan would streamline the FDA approval process, reduce redundant manufacturing regulations, prioritize the use of tax appropriations for America-first manufacturing and use incentive programs, like FDA priority-review vouchers, for companies that manufacture innovative life-saving drugs in America. We need a change &#8211; and fast.
What will you do to hold China to account?
First off, let us make no mistake &#8211; China covered up. They silenced their own scientists that tried to give us early warnings about COVID-19 resulting in the quicker spread of the disease to America and globally. The United States and our allies need to sanction those Chinese nationals involved in this cover-up &#8211; we must hold individuals responsible.
I also support President Trump&#8217;s efforts to get tougher on China, slap them with tariffs and sue them to recover the trillions of dollars lost. Our lawmakers, like Senator Booker, worry more about playing identity politics, than they do dealing with the very serious threat China poses.
Just a few days ago, Cory Booker touted legislation to return funding to the World Health Organization, while at the same time neglected to secure funding for one-fifth of the counties in New Jersey, leaving our proud small-business owners in the lurch.
For several weeks now you have been talking about the need to reopen the US and NJ economy. How do you propose rolling that out?
Listen, this virus is very serious and people need to be cautious but our federal and state governments need to balance that public health risk with the economic damage and mental health anguish these broad, sweeping lockdowns are causing. I have urged state officials to allow businesses to reopen on an evidence-based approach that includes consideration for the total burden of disease, doubling time of the infection rates, and the parts of our population with preexisting health conditions, while encouraging New Jerseyeans to continue with smart social distancing and precautionary measures.
Our Governor here in New Jersey, Phil Murphy, seems bent on keeping the state shutdown for several more months, not weeks.  In the process, he is destroying our economy &#8211; particularly our Jersey Shore and South Jersey &#8211; while at the same time begging the federal government for bailouts.
Everyday Americans are facing food insecurity due to their inability to work and this shutdown is growing our economic depression and increasing the incident rate of mental health issues; the scope and breadth of which remain to be seen. Add to this the fact that NJ gets less federal funding from Washington than we send thanks to ineffective and failed Senators like Cory Booker. This crisis needs to be a wakeup call for a new era of fiscal discipline in the state. We have been lacking this for far too long.
In a nutshell, what will you do to tackle COVID-19 and how can we do better in the future?
In the short term, we need to incrementally reopen our economy and trust our small businesses to self-regulate smart public health measures. The long-term question, however, is the key. We can&#8217;t be caught flat-footed again. To hear Joe Biden criticize President Trump on COVID-19 is outrageous.
For eight years the Obama-Biden administration did very little to prepare us for the eventuality of a pandemic.  Supply chains are a disaster, medical manufacturing moved overseas, and our healthcare system was simply not equipped to deal with this. I credit the moves made early on by the President and his team to remedy this, but moving forward I expect a complete overhaul of our readiness capabilities.
As Senator, I would be a leader in that effort given my background as a health professional, and certainly would bring more to the table in my first year in office than Cory Booker has done his entire term.

Virginia Primary Election

MITSOTAKIS: An Interview With Rik Mehta, The Conservative Pharmacist Taking On Cory Booker For Senate In New Jersey

Cory Booker

Donald Trump

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has come under fire from unemployed residents of his state, some of whom have joined together to &#8220;demand action&#8221; on what they say is a &#8220;pandemic&#8221; the governor is neglecting: the &#8220;unemployment pandemic,&#8221; which is being exacerbated by delays in unemployment funds. Amid the growing frustration over the economic situation, Murphy is assuring unemployed New Jersey residents that they &#8220;won’t lose one penny&#8221; of their delayed unemployment money.
&#8220;NJ unemployment is a nightmare for many people,&#8221; reads a statement on the Facebook page of a newly formed activist group drawing attention to the &#8220;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/523859408569261/">NJ Unemployment Pandemic</a>.&#8221; &#8220;Our Governor has drug his feet and rarely addresses the issue during his daily briefings. The NJ constituents deserve better.&#8221;
&#8220;Many people are going to struggle to provide their families food let alone rent and utilities,&#8221; the statement continues. &#8220;We can stand united or fall alone. Stand up and make a difference. Demand action now!&#8221;
&#8220;People can’t go six and seven weeks without money. You just simply can’t,&#8221; said the group&#8217;s founder Michelle Izzi, as reported by <a href="https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/04/27/delays-for-unemployment-no-food-people-talking-about-suicide/">CBS New York</a>.
Izzi, the outlet notes, is &#8220;one of more than 850,000 New Jersey workers who have filed for unemployment since March 15.&#8221;
&#8220;People have no food. People are talking about suicide,&#8221; Izzi said.
&#8220;We’re literally begging you, sir, please come out of your ivory tower, come down here in the trenches with your people and actually see what’s going on, answer us,&#8221; Izzi said in reference to New Jersey&#8217;s Democratic governor.
Another New Jersey resident, Maria Matos, described her attempt to file for unemployment and told a familiar story, as CBS reports. &#8220;Yesterday I tried to file between 8 and 9 in the  morning. I couldn’t because the line was down. Checked every hour, the line was down all day,&#8221; said Matos.
In response to the growing &#8220;exasperation&#8221; about the state&#8217;s delays in getting people unemployment checks, which are supposed to include the money offered through the coronavirus emergency economic relief package, Gov. Murphy called for patience and promised people they &#8220;won&#8217;t lose one penny.&#8221;
&#8220;This will make… this will not make anyone feel any better, but we are leagues ahead of virtually every other state. But there’s still a backlog,&#8221; said Murphy, as reported by CBS. &#8220;I know folks are still frustrated. You won’t lose one penny, I promise you, including of your federal plus.&#8221;
The state&#8217;s labor department has distributed $1 billion in unemployment since the crisis first began in mid-March, CBS reports.
Similar complaints about backlogged unemployment filings are coming out of New York, where 1.4 million residents have filed for unemployment in the six weeks since the lockdowns began.
The historic $2.2 trillion coronavirus emergency package passed last month offered a series of economic relief measures to Americans, among them an additional $600 per week for unemployment checks. However, “[r]eports of <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/finance/490934-newly-unemployed-may-not-see-expanded-benefits-for-weeks">crashing systems</a> and busy phone lines have surfaced across the country as states struggle with unprecedented unemployment levels,” <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/494773-trump-blames-democrats-for-lateness-in-enhanced-unemployment-checks">The Hill</a> reported. As a result of the delays in multiple states, the Department of Labor has intervened, attempting to help states more efficiently distribute the money, which will be paid retroactively effective March 29.
On Monday, President Trump explained to his 78 million followers on Twitter who to blame for any delays in receiving their additional unemployment money. &#8220;Blame the Democrats for any &#8216;lateness&#8217; in your Enhanced Unemployment Insurance,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-heres-why-you-should-blame-democrats-for-your-late-unemployment-payments">tweeted</a>. &#8220;I wanted the money to be paid directly, they insisted it be paid by states for distribution. I told them this would happen, especially with many states which have old computers.&#8221;
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">subscriber</a>.

‘Come Out Of Your Ivory Tower’: NJ Governor Under Fire From Unemployed Residents, Promises: ‘You Won’t Lose A Penny’

Economy

New York

A high school math teacher in New Jersey, apparently furious that some teenagers were playing football in a local park despite the state’s stay-at-home orders, yelled at them, starting with a warning that they would get arrested and crescendoing to shouting, “I hope both of you get the coronavirus. I hope you both die a long, painful death.”
The woman, identified by <a href="https://www.trentonian.com/news/hamilton-teacher-caught-on-tape-telling-students-she-hopes-they-die-of-coronavirus/article_3f27faf8-8750-11ea-b87f-475554a8dffd.html">The Trentonian</a> as Steinert High School staffer Nicole Griggs, stood behind a chain link fence as she shouted, “Am I screaming loud enough that you can hear me over her music? Parks closed. You will get arrested if the cops come.”
One of the teenage boys responded by asking if they could go to another location, prompting Griggs to yell, “Parks closed. The whole area. Get it through your thick head. You are the reason we are  in this situation. You are the problem, not the solution.” The incident reportedly occurred at the former Homedell School.
Griggs dismissed the fact that one of the boys was videotaping the incident, yelling, “Go ahead; keep recording. Who are you going to show it to? Post me on social media. You’re the idiot doing the wrong thing. I’m just trying to save your a** and save your life. But die, OK. I hope both of you get the coronavirus. I hope you both die a long, painful death.”
The boys went ahead and shared the footage on Snapchat and Tik Tok, writing on Tik Tok, “Y’all Mrs Griggs is losing her damn mind how tf is she a teacher #coronavirus.” One of the boys later stated, &#8220;When she said that, I was shocked. I didn’t know someone would say something like that, especially a teacher. She should be smarter with her words.&#8221;
On a Facebook page under the alias &#8220;Nikki Leigh,&#8221; a page that the Trentonian reported belonged to Griggs, a post dated April 6 stated,  “We are surrounded by idiots!!!!!! Rode our bikes near Kuser Park this afternoon and what to [sic] we see but a younger couple with their daughter maybe 2/3 years old UNDOING the caution tape around the jungle gym so she could slide. I totally called them out on it, wished illness on them and commented that it was scary to even think they were parents. Their response: ‘We were going to put it back.’”
According to the <a href="https://www.hamilton.k12.nj.us/Page/7456">school district website</a>, Griggs stated she had “been teaching in Hamilton for 15 years at the secondary level, both middle school and high school.  I was born and raised and have lived in Hamilton all my life.”
Mayor Jeff Martin of Hamilton Township responded to the incident, stating, “This is a very serious thing. We’ve got at least 50 people who have actually died from it, 50 families. It’s not something to joke around about. Teacher or not, it’s unacceptable.&#8221; Schools superintendent Scott Rocco added, “We will address the issue immediately.”
The Daily Mail noted, “Hamilton Township has 724 COVID-19 cases and 51 deaths. New Jersey has more than 100,000 cases and at least 5,800 deaths.”
Video below:
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The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a subscriber.

Flag Football Huddle

WATCH: Teacher Yells At Teenagers Playing Football, ‘I Hope You Get The Coronavirus … Die A Long, Painful Death’

Orders by the three states that have been hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic have put the state&#8217;s most vulnerable people at risk of contracting COVID-19.
As reported by <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/coronavirus-spreads-new-york-nursing-home-forced-take-recovering-patients-n1191811">NBC News</a> on Saturday, New York, New Jersey and California have &#8220;ordered nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to accept coronavirus patients discharged from hospitals,&#8221; even if they &#8220;still might be contagious.&#8221;
&#8220;The policy, intended to help clear in-demand hospital beds for sicker patients, has prompted sharp criticism from the nursing home industry, staff members and concerned families, as well as some leading public health experts,&#8221; NBC News reports.
As the <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/04/23/coronavirus-patients-admitted-to-queens-nursing-home-with-body-bags/">New York Post</a> reported Thursday, an executive at a New York nursing home in Queens that had been free of the virus says the facility first became aware of the <a href="https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/03/doh_covid19-_nhadmissionsreadmissions_-032520.pdf">state mandate</a> when they received two discharged coronavirus-positive patients who were in need of care, and potentially still contagious. Along with the patients, the facility received five body bags.
&#8220;An executive at the facility — which was previously free of the deadly disease — said the bags were in the shipment of personal protective equipment received the same day the home was forced to begin treating two people discharged from hospitals with COVID-19,&#8221; the Post reported.
&#8220;Within days, three of the bags were filled with the first of 30 residents who would die there after Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Health Department handed down its March 25 directive that bars nursing homes from refusing to admit &#8216;medically stable&#8217; coronavirus patients,&#8221; the Post reported, citing the executive.
Since, the facility has admitted a total of 17 coronavirus-positive patients from nearby facilities, the executive explained. While the patients that they admitted have done well, other residents have died. The facility is still waiting for test results to determine if COVID-19 was involved with some of the deaths, but the executive is certain that it was.
&#8220;Cuomo has blood on his hands. He really does. There’s no way to sugarcoat this,&#8221; the executive told the Post. &#8220;Why in the world would you be sending coronavirus patients to a nursing home, where the most vulnerable population to this disease resides?&#8221;
As The Daily Wire&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-required-nursing-homes-to-admit-medically-stable-coronavirus-patients-the-results-were-deadly">Ashe Schow</a> noted, it&#8217;s not just that one nursing home in New York which has been forced to admit &#8220;medically stable&#8221; COVID-19-positive patients. &#8220;A nursing facility in Manhattan confirmed the Queens executive’s situation, saying they also receive weekly shipments of body bags and added that the state mandate included no warning or time to prepare for accepting coronavirus patients,&#8221; Schow reported Sunday.
Harvard Medical School&#8217;s David Grabowski, a health policy professor, echoed the Queens&#8217; facility executive&#8217;s pushback on the state&#8217;s order. &#8220;Nursing homes are working so hard to keep the virus out, and now we’re going to be introducing new COVID-positive patients?&#8221; said Grabowski, as reported by NBC.
The professor suggested that states should create coronavirus patient-only facilities for those recovering from the disease, pointing out that very few facilities exist that can safely handle recovering COVID-19-positive patients.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">subscriber</a>.

Andrew Cuomo

Three Hardest-Hit, Democrat-Run States Force Nursing Homes To Accept Recovering COVID Patients, Face Backlash

California

Police in Andover, New Jersey, received a tip that there was a body in the shed of one of the largest nursing homes in the state. We still don’t know why the tip said what it said or who sent it, but police didn’t find a body in a shed.
What they did find was 17 bodies in the nursing home morgue and a nursing staff “clearly overwhelmed and probably short-staffed,” Andover Police Chief Eric Danielson <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/16/us/bodies-found-new-jersey-nursing-home/index.html">told</a> CNN.
&#8220;The residents were expiring. Why? We&#8217;re not sure if it&#8217;s from Covid-19 or from other diseases, but we tried our best to ease the burden,&#8221; he continued.
The morgue was supposed to only hold up to four people, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/nyregion/coronavirus-nj-andover-nursing-home-deaths.html?smid=tw-nytmetro&amp;smtyp=cur">reported</a>. The outlet also reported that there had been a body in the shed but it had been moved into the morgue by the time police arrived. Also, each body was in a body bag and had a proper tag identifying the deceased.
More from the Times:
<blockquote>The 17 were among 68 recent deaths linked to the long-term care facility, Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center I and II, including two nurses, officials said. Of those who died, 26 people had tested positive for the virus.
For the others, the cause of death is unknown.
Of the patients who remain at the homes, housed in two buildings, 76 have tested positive for the virus; 41 staff members, including an administrator, are sick with Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, according to county health records shared on Wednesday with a federal official.</blockquote>
As the Times reported, New York’s nursing homes are also struggling with the coronavirus, with thousands of residents dying and thousands more testing positive for the virus.
“The challenge we’re having with all of these nursing homes, is once it spreads, it’s like a wildfire,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NY) told the outlet. “It’s very hard to stop it.”
The Times also reported that Andover Subacute had problems before the coronavirus pandemic and received a one-star rating from Medicare based on its staffing levels, inspections, and patient care.
The New York and New Jersey area nursing facilities are not the only ones affected by the coronavirus. A facility in Washington State was home to the majority of the earliest coronavirus deaths in the United States. In California, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nursing-home-evacuated-after-staff-fail-to-show-up-for-two-days">reported</a>, elderly patients had to be evacuated from one nursing home because staff failed to show up for work two days in a row. The coronavirus hit the Magnolia Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center in Riverside, California, with at least 34 out of the 84 patients testing positive for the virus along with five staff members.
A <a href="https://www.rivcoph.org/Portals/0/Documents/CoronaVirus/4.8.20%20SNF%20Magnolia%20Rehabilitation.pdf?ver=2020-04-08-085911-707&amp;timestamp=1586361636633">news release</a> from the Riverside County Public Health Department stated that all 84 patients were being moved to other facilities and that just one certified nursing assistant showed up for work in the past two days.
“For example, one certified nursing assistant of the 13 scheduled showed up to work at the Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, which prompted Riverside University Health System and Kaiser Permanente to send a total of 33 licensed vocational nurses and registered nurses to care for the residents at the facility. Staffing demands, however, require the patients be moved today,” the department stated.

Morgue

17 Bodies Found In New Jersey Nursing Home Morgue, Police Unsure If Deaths Coronavirus Related

On Wednesday evening, Fox News host Tucker Carlson confronted New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy about his executive order banning religious services in the state during the coronavirus crisis, an order that resulted in 15 men being arrested for congregating at a synagogue earlier this month. The Democratic governor responded by defending his severe order and openly admitting that he &#8220;wasn&#8217;t thinking of the Bill of Rights when we did this.&#8221;
&#8216;The Bill of Rights, as you well know, protects Americans&#8217; rights — enshrines their right to practice their religion as they see fit and to congregate together to assemble peacefully,&#8221; Carlson reminded Gov. Murphy on his show Wednesday, as reported by <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/tucker-carlson-phil-murphy-bill-of-rights">Fox News</a>.
The First Amendment specifies that &#8220;Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.&#8221;
&#8220;By what authority did you nullify the Bill of Rights in issuing this order?&#8221; Carlson asked Murphy. &#8220;How do you have the power to do that?&#8221;
&#8220;That&#8217;s above my pay grade, Tucker,&#8221; said the governor. &#8220;I wasn&#8217;t thinking of the Bill of Rights when we did this &#8230; we looked at all the data and the science and it says people have to stay away from each other. That is the best thing we can do to break the back of the curve of this virus, that leads to lower hospitalization and ultimately fatalities.&#8221;
Clearly unsatisfied with Murphy&#8217;s response, Carlson pressed again. &#8220;Since you are an elected official, a leader in the government, an executive, how do you have the authority to order something that so clearly contravenes the Bill of Rights of the United States – the U.S. Constitution – where do you get the authority to do that?&#8221; he asked.
&#8220;We know we need to stay away from each other, number one,&#8221; Murphy replied. &#8220;Number two, we do have broad authority within the state. And number three, we would never do that without coordinating, discussing, and hashing it out with the variety of the leaders of the faiths of New Jersey.&#8221; The governor went on to claim that he spoke with multiple religious leaders, including Newark Archbishop Joseph Cardinal Tobin.
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Clip of the interview below (via The Daily Caller):
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Tucker Carlson asks New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy where he got the authority to nullify the Bill of rights when he banned religious services in his state:
 &quot;I wasn&#39;t thinking of the Bill of Rights when we did this&#8230; The science says people have to stay away from each other.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/DPQ5d2DFl2">pic.twitter.com/DPQ5d2DFl2</a>
&mdash; Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyCaller/status/1250582176611123205?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Like many states, New Jersey has <a href="https://nj.gov/infobank/eo/056murphy/approved/eo_archive.html">mandated</a> closure of businesses, organizations, and activities deemed &#8220;non-essential.&#8221; As a result, the national economy has begun to collapse, with now <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/economy-is-falling-off-a-cliff-another-5-2-million-americans-filed-jobless-claims-last-week-totaling-22-million-in-last-month">22 million</a> Americans filing for unemployment over a span of just four weeks, an unprecedented development.
In response, a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lockdown-backlash-builds-protests-organized-in-multiple-states">backlash</a> has begun to grow in many states, particularly those where officials have been deemed to have &#8220;overreached&#8221; their authority and violated constitutionally protected rights.
In Michigan, where the backlash is particularly strong over Democratic. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer&#8217;s severe executive order shutting down most of the economy and making access to some goods difficult for residents, four sheriffs have declared that they will not enforce some of the restrictions, citing their duty to serve as the &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sheriffs-say-no-to-democrat-governors-draconian-lockdown-orders-we-will-protect-civil-liberties">last line of defense in protecting your civil liberties</a>.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-police-arrest-reopen-america-protester-say-constitutionally-protected-rights-non-essential">WATCH: Police Arrest ‘Reopen’ Protester; Say Constitutionally Protected Rights ‘Non-Essential’</a>

WATCH: NJ Governor Confronted On Violating Bill Of Rights By Banning Religious Services, Gives Viral Response

Constitution

First Amendment

Fox News

freedom of religion

Religion

Tucker Carlson

UPDATE: President Trump on Saturday night said  he would not issue a quarantine on New York and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
&#8220;A quarantine will not be necessary,&#8221; Trump wrote on Twitter, noting that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would issue a &#8220;travel advisory&#8221; later in the evening.
&#8220;On the recommendation of the White House CoronaVirus Task Force, and upon consultation with the Governor’s of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, I have asked the <a href="https://twitter.com/CDCgov">@CDCgov</a> to issue a strong Travel Advisory, to be administered by the Governors, in consultation with the Federal Government. A quarantine will not be necessary. Full details will be released by CDC tonight. Thank you!&#8221; he wrote.
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On the recommendation of the White House CoronaVirus Task Force, and upon consultation with the Governor’s of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, I have asked the <a href="https://twitter.com/CDCgov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CDCgov</a> to issue a strong Travel Advisory, to be administered by the Governors, in consultation with the&#8230;.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1244056534583312384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Below is the original story.
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President Donald Trump on Saturday said he is considering an &#8220;enforceable&#8221; quarantine on New York state, as well as parts of New Jersey and Connecticut.
“We’d like to see New York quarantined because it’s a hot spot — New York, New Jersey, maybe one or two other places, certain parts of Connecticut quarantined. I’m thinking about that right now. We might not have to do it but there’s a possibility that sometime today we’ll do a quarantine — short term two weeks for New York, probably New Jersey and parts of Connecticut,&#8221; Trump said.
&#8220;This will be an enforceable quarantine, but hopefully we won’t need it,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;We&#8217;re looking at it and we&#8217;ll be making a decision,&#8221; the president said at Andrews Air Force Base before departing for Virginia to send off a hospital ship. &#8220;It will be for a short time if we do it at all.&#8221;
Asked if that quarantine would include shutting down New York City&#8217;s subway, the major mode of transport for many city dwellers, Trump said, “No we wouldn’t do that.&#8221;
The president also dismissed the notion that he would deploy the National Guard to enforce quarantine rules. &#8216;We&#8217;re not going to need that,&#8217; he said.
At a news conference Saturday afternoon, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said he didn&#8217;t know about the president&#8217;s thoughts on quarantining the state.
“I didn’t speak to him about any quarantine,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I don’t know how that could be legally enforceable, and from a medical point of view, I don’t know what you would be accomplishing,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Not even understanding what it is, I don’t like the sound of it.”
The governor said the number of confirmed cases in the state now stands at 52,318, including 29,766 in New York City. A total of 728 people in the state have died, Cuomo said.
Cuomo also announced that the best estimate for the peak number of COVID-19 cases in New York is still 14 to 21 days away.
The enforceable quarantine would apply for people leaving New York, Trump said. Over the last week, thousands of New Yorkers have left the state, the hottest spot in the country for the spread of SARS-CoV-2.  One photo making the rounds showed private planes stacked up to take off.
“Restrict travel because they are having problems down in Florida. A lot of New Yorkers going down, we don’t want that,&#8221; Trump told reporters.
On Friday, Trump supported the actions of governors to crack down on travelers from states hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, like Washington and New York.
&#8220;We are very strong on people not leaving, especially certain states, and going to other states where they have less of a problem,&#8221; Trump said at his daily press conference. &#8220;You are hearing constantly about people leaving New York and going down to Florida, and New York is obviously a hotspot.&#8221;
On Friday, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo ordered state police to stop vehicles with New York license plates and to enforce a 14-day quarantine of anyone who entered the state from New York.

UPDATE: Trump Issues ‘Travel Advisory’ For New York, Rejects ‘Enforceable’ Quarantine

A New Jersey man who previously was arrested for carrying a handgun for which he had a permit, along with legal ammunition, now says he is considering a lawsuit against the police and prosecutor’s office who targeted him.
Roosevelt Twyne was arrested last month after he was pulled over for his car’s window tinting. Twyne informed the police officer that he had a handgun with him, and was arrested even though he had a license for the handgun and the ammo he was carrying was specifically listed as legal on a New Jersey police website, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-jersey-man-arrested-for-carrying-his-licensed-handgun-and-legal-ammunition">reported</a>.
New Jersey authorities eventually dismissed the charges against Twyne, but The Washington Free Beacon’s Stephen Gutowski, who has covered this story since the beginning, has <a href="https://freebeacon.com/issues/jersey-gun-owner-pursuing-civil-suit-as-prosecutor-drops-all-charges/">reported</a> that Twyne is looking to file a civil suit over the ordeal.
Twyne’s attorney, Evan Nappen, told the Free Beacon that his client has been on unpaid suspension from his job as a security guard since his arrest. While Nappen said he was “extremely pleased” the charges were dropped, his client has still suffered damages due to the arrest.
&#8220;We still need to get his gun back,&#8221; Nappen told the outlet. &#8220;We&#8217;re working on that. Then, of course, you want to clear the record with expungement so he doesn&#8217;t have an arrest record. We&#8217;re looking at and weighing the options on further civil action.&#8221;
Nappen acknowledged that it would be difficult for Twyne to win his lawsuit, but insisted it was being done to help put a stop to New Jersey’s onerous gun laws that routinely result in the arrest of innocent gun owners. The most famous case is that of Shaneen Allen, a young mother of two who obtained a permit for a handgun after her home was burglarized in Pennsylvania. Allen was arrested in New Jersey after informing a police officer she had a gun during a routine traffic stop. She did not know that her permit didn’t carry over. Ignorance of the law is obviously no excuse, but Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain came under heavy criticism for his decision to throw the book at Allen. The young mother was <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/mom-arrested-for-carrying-licensed-firearm-slams-nj-prosecutor-who-let-ray-rice-off-but-is-throwing-book-at-her">denied the chance</a> to participate in a first-time offender deferral program, meaning she faced up to three-and-a-half years in prison. That same prosecutor allowed ex-Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice into the deferral program despite video showing him beating his wife.
&#8220;New Jersey&#8217;s over-zealous gun laws have enabled scenarios where law-abiding citizens—in this case, a security guard nonetheless—are being prosecuted,&#8221; Assemblyman John DiMaio (R) said in a statement regarding Twyne’s arrest. &#8220;Unfortunately, those good intentions have bad consequences. We want to fix that.&#8221;
DiMaio was one of several Republican lawmakers in the Garden State to introduce a bill that “would clarify the state&#8217;s restrictions against hollow-point ammunition, which is commonly used for self-defense in the rest of the country,” Gutowski reported.
The prosecutor’s office that charged Twyne admitted it had charged the security guard in error over the ammunition in this car, but insisted his carry permit only allowed him to have his gun on his person while he was at work – and he had left his job 16 minutes before he was pulled over.
&#8220;Mr. Twyne, who is an employee of Brinks, produced a permit to carry the weapon, which was subject to certain conditions,&#8221; the Union County Prosecutor’s Office said in <a href="https://ucnj.org/prosecutor/press-releases/prosecutor/2020/03/13/gun-charges-against-roselle-man-dismissed/">a statement</a> after the charges were dropped. &#8220;In particular, the permit was expressly limited to the time he was on-duty with Brinks. At the time of the stop, Mr. Twyne was not on duty with Brinks—and, accordingly, he was not legally permitted to carry a weapon at that time.&#8221;

Gun and ammo

Jersey Man Arrested For Legal Gun, Ammo, Plans To Sue Over Ordeal

Gun Laws

Guns

The charges have been dropped against New Jersey security guard who was arrested earlier this month for illegal possession even though he had a license for his handgun and was carrying legal ammunition.
The Union County Prosecutor’s Office (UCPO) announced in <a href="https://ucnj.org/prosecutor/press-releases/prosecutor/2020/03/13/gun-charges-against-roselle-man-dismissed/">a press release</a> on Friday that charges would be dropped against Roosevelt Twyne, the 25-year-old security guard with Brinks. As The Daily Wire previously reported, Twyne was stopped by police on February 8 for his tinted car windows. He informed officers of his weapon and was arrested for illegally carrying a firearm and being in possession of “hollow point ammunition,” even though the ammunition he had with him is specifically listed as legal on the New Jersey State Police <a href="https://www.njsp.org/firearms/firearms-faqs.shtml">website</a>.
The UCPO said that Twyne did have a permit to carry the weapon, but it was subject to certain conditions. He was only supposed to carry it when he was on-duty with Brinks and that the company “will be responsible for the adequate safeguarding of the weapon during periods when employee is off duty.” Twyne had clocked out of work 16 minutes before he was pulled over.
The UCPO said that Twyne had a gun box with him and that if he had simply put the gun into the box, he wouldn’t have been charged with illegal possession. The office also seemed to admit – though it did not apologize for – that Twyne was erroneously charged with carrying illegal ammunition, writing, “although featuring a hollow nose, the specific ammunition in the possession of Mr. Twyne is not illegal under New Jersey law, due to the polymer filling inside the hollow tip.”
“In light of that investigation, this Office has concluded that, although probable cause existed to arrest and charge Mr. Twyne at the time of his arrest, it is not in the interests of justice to continue his prosecution,” the UCPO wrote. “In particular, this Office notes that the motor vehicle stop occurred shortly after Mr. Twyne had left work; that he possessed a gun box, which, if utilized, would have made it legal for him to transport the firearm home; that there is no evidence one way or another as to whether his failure to utilize the gun box was intentional; and that at no point during the motor vehicle stop did he pose any danger to the police officers involved.”
Because of the facts, the UCPO wrote that it “has elected to exercise its prosecutorial discretion and has administratively dismissed all charges pending against Mr. Twyne.”
The Washington Free Beacon’s Stephen Gutowski previously <a href="https://freebeacon.com/issues/jersey-cops-arrest-black-gun-owner-over-licensed-gun-legal-ammo/amp/?__twitter_impression=true">reported</a> how difficult it is to navigate New Jersey’s gun laws.
“The charges against Twyne are representative of the difficulties of navigating New Jersey’s gun laws, which are among the strictest in the nation. They may also reveal issues in the police’s understanding of the state’s voluminous, complex gun restrictions. The case also shows how disruptive gun-related charges can be, even when the accused has a clean record and is not alleged to have done anything violent,” he reported.

A security guard

New Jersey Drops Illegal Weapon Charges Against Security Guard With Legal Weapon, Ammo

New Jersey continues to be one of the worst states for gunowners.
The latest example involves an African-American security guard, Roosevelt Twyne, who had a handgun carry permit and legal ammunition yet still was arrested over the firearm. The Washington Free Beacon’s Stephen Gutowski <a href="https://freebeacon.com/issues/jersey-cops-arrest-black-gun-owner-over-licensed-gun-legal-ammo/amp/?__twitter_impression=true">reported</a> that Twyne was arrested by Roselle Park Police last month after he was pulled over because his car windows were tinted too darkly. Police then found the handgun and ammunition and claimed he was illegally carrying a firearm and was in possession of “hollow point ammunition,” even though the ammo he had with him was not that.
&#8220;He was arrested for the hollow point ammunition,&#8221; Twyne’s attorney, Evan Nappen, told the Free Beacon. &#8220;Then they claimed he was transporting his handgun illegally. He had a <a href="https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Cropped-Carry-1-REDACTED.jpg">permit to carry a handgun</a>. The law … makes it clear that it&#8217;s illegal to transport unless you are licensed pursuant to chapter 58. And that is precisely what a handgun carry permit is.&#8221;
Nappen then told the Free Beacon that the ammunition Twyne was arrested for is the same as what his employer issues and is deemed legal by a New Jersey State Police <a href="https://www.njsp.org/firearms/firearms-faqs.shtml">website</a>. That website says that the ammunition Twyne was carrying – polymer-tipped Hornady “Critical Duty” ammunition – is “not considered to be hollow point ammunition.&#8221; It is specifically listed as legal ammunition on the website.
&#8220;It&#8217;s lawful,&#8221; Nappen told the outlet. &#8220;It&#8217;s publicly announced as lawful because it is. It&#8217;s not hollow. It&#8217;s filled.&#8221;
More from Gutowski:
Roselle Park police chief Daniel J. McCaffery did not return a request for comment. The Union County Prosecutor&#8217;s Office did not respond to questions about the charges against Twyne but did say his case will be heard next month in New Jersey Superior Court.
The charges against Twyne are representative of the difficulties of navigating New Jersey&#8217;s gun laws, which are among the strictest in the nation. They may also reveal issues in the police&#8217;s understanding of the state&#8217;s voluminous, complex gun restrictions. The case also shows how disruptive gun-related charges can be, even when the accused has a clean record and is not alleged to have done anything violent.
Twyne told the Free Beacon what the arrest has done to his personal life.
&#8220;Honestly, it&#8217;s been traumatic and has impacted my life in a way that I&#8217;ve never experienced before,&#8221; he told the outlet in a statement. &#8220;It&#8217;s hard because now even looking for a part time job or any job, it&#8217;s made it so much harder for me. Not only has it tainted my name and reputation, which I have worked hard to attain, not just growing up in Elizabeth, but as a black man trying to make a difference.&#8221;
His attorney said three white police officers arrested Twyne, and though they did not make racist comments, the issue of race was the “elephant in the room.”
&#8220;They didn&#8217;t make racist comments,&#8221; Nappen said. &#8220;They didn&#8217;t say anything racist but, on its face, it&#8217;s dubious. Let&#8217;s just say it&#8217;s dubious.&#8221;

Handgun

New Jersey Man Arrested For Carrying His Licensed Handgun and Legal Ammunition

This Sunday <a href="https://youtu.be/SNrRxj8cIME">night</a>, Dirshu’s World Siyum took place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The evening celebrated Dirshu participants’ completion of the learning of the seven and half-year cycle of Talmud. A monumental achievement, this is one that requires structure, discipline, and the sort of motivation that Dirshu’s programming affords its participants. Although I myself did not attend the ceremony in person, I was still enthralled by what I saw on the event&#8217;s livestream.
I don’t believe that the Prudential Center has ever hosted an environment as electrifying as the one that the largest Torah organization in the world managed to create. The arena that normally hosts the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League was filled with fathers embracing their children, jointly celebrating this amazing accomplishment of having completed such a substantial amount of learning. I was struck by the sort of joy exhibited on the faces of the fathers holding their sons. The joy in the room was palatable. It was a raw form of happiness — with each man grabbing the arm of his fellow man, dancing and celebrating in unison.
During this time of division, where the seeds of hatred are too commonly sown and the pursuit of materialism too commonly elevated, watching the Dirshu World Siyum was such a refreshing respite. It was a sea of faces of close to 20,000 people dedicated to intellectual growth and to embracing Jewish identity. All in all, there were 11 worldwide events that were a part of the Dirshu World Siyum. With 150,000 participants in total, the events were held in some of the world’s largest venues in cities, from London to Paris to Jerusalem.
There was one obvious question that crossed my mind: Who is it who makes this all possible? The event was a production of epic proportions; and year-round, the costs involved with running an operation that has a presence on every continent are surely astronomical. Yet there were no solicitations throughout the evening. Not a single word about it.
That’s because an unassuming but modest man who founded and leads the organization takes care of the entire operation quietly. Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter, the son of Holocaust survivors, created Dirshu as a means to revive Jewish learning to the level where it often was prior to the Holocaust. As Governor Mike Huckabee recently wrote in a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/mike-huckabee-sin-of-anti-semitism-must-be-condemned-and-fought-by-people-of-all-faiths">column</a> he penned for Fox News, &#8220;thanks to Rabbi Hofstedter and Dirshu, Jewish scholarship is seeing a great resurgence and is beginning to reach the same levels as seen before the Holocaust.”
In an era where Jews are increasingly under siege, there’s a natural inclination among some to cower under fear. Some inevitably feel intimidated. But the message that Dirshu and Rabbi Hofstedter transmitted through Sunday night’s enormous event is clear: We will continue celebrating our Jewish pride. We will continue promoting our Jewish identity and our Jewish texts. For that reason, a common expression raised during some of the rabbis’ speeches throughout the night was that the greatest form of revenge against Hitler is learning our Jewish texts and celebrating our collective pride in our Judaism. Thanks to Rabbi Hofstedter and the Dirshu World Siyum, the display of Jewish solidarity and consecration of God’s name will surely last for many years to come.
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Follow Jeremy Frankel on <a href="https://twitter.com/FrankelJeremy?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a>.

Jewish Museum of Switzerland. Basel. Old Talmud (1578-1560).

FRANKEL: A Powerful Display Of Jewish Values In New Jersey

Anti-Semitism

Judaism

There’s a reason New Jersey is colloquially known as The Soprano State.
A bipartisan group of public officials in the state were arrested Thursday for taking thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for political favors. Three Democrats and Two republicans were charged after an investigation by New Jersey’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA). State Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced the arrest in <a href="https://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases19/pr20191219a.html">a press release</a>.
“We allege that these political candidates were all too willing to sell the authority of their public office or the office they sought in exchange for an envelope filled with cash or illegal checks from straw donors,” said Attorney General Grewal. “This is old-school political corruption at its worst— the kind that undermines the political process and erodes public faith in government. We are working through the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability to create a culture of accountability in New Jersey, where public officials know they must act with integrity or else face the consequences.”
Here’s what led each one to be arrested:
Sudhan Thomas
Thomas, a registered Democrat and the Jersey City School Board president, was charged with accepting $35,000 in cash bribes in exchange for allegedly agreeing to hire the payer as a special counsel for the school board. The person who paid the bribes is referred to in the press release as “the cooperating witness (CW).” At one point the CW and Thomas exchanged messages relating to the bribes:
<blockquote>CW: Make me special counsel for …
Thomas: Real estate.
CW: Yeah, real estate… that’s perfect.
Thomas: Yeah, nobody questions anything… nobody questions all of that stuff.</blockquote>
Jason O’Donnell
O’Donnell, a former Democrat State Assemblyman, has been charged with accepting a $10,000 cash bribe – delivered in a paper bag – that he solicited from the CW. In exchange for the money, O’Donnell allegedly agreed to hire the CW for city tax work if he won his mayoral race in Bayonne. After accepting the money, the two exchanged the following messages:
<blockquote>CW: “I just wanna be your tax guy.”
O’Donnell: “Done.”</blockquote>
John Cesaro
Cesaro, a now-former Republican Morris County Freeholder, was charged with soliciting contributions from the CW for his expected 2021 campaign for mayor of Parsippany-Troy Hills. Cesaro is a accused of accepting bribes from the CW in exchange for tax work for Morris County and Parsippany-Troy Hills if Cesaro were elected.
Cesaro allegedly accepted an envelope filled with $10,000 cash and $2,350 in checks. He later returned the cash and asked for it to be replaced with checks. The two discussed using “straw donors” to hide the money, which is illegal in New Jersey. Cesaro accepted two checks from the CW for $2,600 each, described by the CW as “my straws.” Before the checks were delivered, the two exchanged the following messages:
<blockquote>CW: Johnny, listen, all I want to do is the tax work. That’s all I’m looking to do.
Cesaro: I become mayor, I got your back.</blockquote>
John Windish
Windish, a former Republican councilman for Mount Arlington, allegedly accepted an envelope containing $7,000 in bribes from the CW during his unsuccessful re-election bid. Windish allegedly agreed to reappoint the CW as borough attorney. After the money was delivered, Windish allegedly had the following conversation with the CW:
<blockquote>CW: “I need you to, I need your commit that I’m your borough attorney and I need more work, John.”
Windish: “You got it.”</blockquote>
Mary Dougherty
Dougherty, a real estate agent in Morristown who was running for Morris County Freeholder in 2018, allegedly accepted a $10,000 bribe from the CW in exchange for reappointing the CW as counsel for Morris County. After the money was received, the two had the following exchange:
<blockquote>CW: “These are my straws… so I just need your support for my reappointment. Don’t forget me.”
Dougherty: “I won’t. I promise. A friend is a friend, my friend.”</blockquote>

Bribery

Five Current, Former New Jersey Public Officials Arrested For Bribery

Crime

On Thursday morning, far-left &#8220;Squad&#8221; member and freshman congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) blamed the murders of three Orthodox Jews and a police officer on &#8220;white supremacy.&#8221;
The Democrat&#8217;s tweet was posted after reports circulated connecting one of the attackers belonged to the black supremacist group Black Hebrew Israelites.
&#8220;This is heartbreaking,&#8221; Rep. Tlaib captioned a photo of one of the Jewish victims. &#8220;White supremacy kills.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Now deleted. <a href="https://t.co/l1T3JclYkR">pic.twitter.com/l1T3JclYkR</a>
&mdash; The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1205147765770080261?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Tlaib later deleted the tweet, but there is no correction or update posted on her account, despite the Democrat being active on her account Thursday morning.
&#8220;Six people, including one police officer, were killed in Jersey City, N.J., on Tuesday in a series of gunfights that brought destruction to a kosher market and made a residential area feel like a war zone,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/nyregion/jersey-city-shooter.html">The New York Times</a> reported on the attack earlier this week. &#8220;The dead included three people in the market as well as two suspected shooters, officials said. The slain police officer, Detective Joseph Seals, 40, was a longtime veteran with the Jersey City Police Department, according to Chief Mike Kelly.&#8221;
As noted by the outlet, it was initially reported that the attack was &#8220;random,&#8221; but now officers believe the area was &#8220;targeted.&#8221;
&#8220;Based on our initial investigation (which is ongoing) we now believe the active shooters targeted the location they attacked,&#8221; Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop tweeted Tuesday night. &#8220;Due to an excess of caution the community may see additional police resources in the days/weeks ahead. We have no indication there are any further threats.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Based on our initial investigation (which is ongoing) we now believe the active shooters targeted the location they attacked. Due to an excess of caution the community may see additional police resources in the days/weeks ahead. We have no indication there are any further threats
&mdash; Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) <a href="https://twitter.com/StevenFulop/status/1204586860783325184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It appears that at least one of the attackers was connected to the Black Hebrew Israelite movement.
&#8220;An assailant involved in the prolonged firefight in Jersey City, N.J., that left six people dead, including one police officer, was linked on Wednesday to the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, and had published anti-Semitic posts online, a law enforcement official said,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/11/nyregion/black-hebrew-israelites-jersey-city-suspects.html">Times</a> reported Wednesday.
As noted by the Times, Black Hebrew Israelites &#8220;are known for their inflammatory sidewalk ministers who employ provocation as a form of gospel, preaching a theology that says the chosen ones are black, Native American and Hispanic people.&#8221;
The male suspect, who will not be named per Daily Wire policy, &#8220;had posted anti-Semitic and anti-police screeds on internet forums in the past,&#8221; the Times said. &#8220;A manifesto-style document was found in the van that the assailants abandoned in the parking lot of the supermarket.&#8221;
Tlaib was roundly ridiculed over the now-deleted tweet.
&#8220;Tlaib deleted this but the fact that she even tweeted it in the first place despite the fact that the identity of the perps was widely circulated yesterday shows how little of a s*** she gives about dead Jews,&#8221; posted popular political Twitter account Neontaster. &#8220;It&#8217;s like that tweet was the first she&#8217;d heard of the story.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Tlaib deleted this but the fact that she even tweeted it in the first place despite the fact that the identity of the perps was widely circulated yesterday shows how little of a shit she gives about dead Jews. It&#39;s like that tweet was the first she&#39;d heard of the story. <a href="https://t.co/LngUjpMTQw">pic.twitter.com/LngUjpMTQw</a>
&mdash; neontaster (@neontaster) <a href="https://twitter.com/neontaster/status/1205153609912061953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Now that Tlaib deleted this, I’m waiting to see if Tlaib thinks Jews being murdered is heartbreaking even when the killers don’t fit into her convenient political boxes,&#8221; said The Jerusalem Post&#8217;s Lahav Harkov.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Now that Tlaib deleted this, I’m waiting to see if Tlaib thinks Jews being murdered is heartbreaking even when the killers don’t fit into her convenient political boxes. <a href="https://t.co/Fn7ZkllzMT">pic.twitter.com/Fn7ZkllzMT</a>
&mdash; Lahav Harkov (@LahavHarkov) <a href="https://twitter.com/LahavHarkov/status/1205160712475205632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;It&#8217;s telling, and frankly sick, that Tlaib tweeted out sympathies for the Jews that were murdered blaming it on white supremacists,&#8221; wrote Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll.  &#8220;Didn&#8217;t care enough to find out what happened. Just enough to use dead Jews for her political agenda.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
It&#39;s telling, and frankly sick, that Tlaib tweeted out sympathies for the Jews that were murdered blaming it on white supremacists. Didn&#39;t care enough to find out what happened. Just enough to use dead Jews for her political agenda.
&mdash; Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll (@skjask) <a href="https://twitter.com/skjask/status/1205147952966189057?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Rep. Rashida Tlaib

SEE IT: Rep. Tlaib Blames ‘White Supremacy’ For Murder Of Jews, Cop By Suspected Black Supremacist In Now-Deleted Tweet, Gets Blasted Online

Black Nationalism

Rashida Tlaib

A local New Jersey education board has voted in favor of a high school elective course that would teach students about white privilege in America.
Member of the Westfield, New Jersey, education board voted on December 3 to introduce to the local high school a new, half-year elective called “Power, Privilege and Imbalance in American Society.” The course syllabus makes it clear that the “course is based on the theoretical framework of Critical Race Theory which is a legal approach that emerged out of the Civil Rights movement in order to identify and attack the inequalities faced by racial and ethnic minorities.”
The purpose of the course, according to a copy of the proposed syllabus provided to The Daily Wire by someone who attended the board meeting, is to “understand the barriers encountered by people of ethnic minorities and how those barriers were created and have changed America.”
The course focuses on American history from the perspective of racial minorities, including African-Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans. The course provides questions to be asked of students, including: “In what ways has American society been structured to oppress African Americans/Native Americans/Hispanic Americans/Asian Americans?,” “Does society suffer from that oppression?” and “How was white supremacy established in American society and in what ways does it continue today?”
Several members of the all-white education board objected to the course. Two objected, not to the course per se, but merely wanted more time to address issues raised by the community and perhaps expand the reading list for the course to include books that offer a different perspective on race in America.
One board member repeatedly objected to the course on the grounds that critical race theory has been accused of being anti-Semitic and anti-Asian-American. “I feel extremely passionate about revising this course to represent all of the members of the community and I’m really upset that it’s not obvious that that is what’s needed here,” she said. She also said the course appeared to differ from school policy that courses “must not indoctrinate pupils or seek to persuade them to a particular point of view.”
Multiple members of the Westfield community also objected to the course’s basis in critical race theory. A couple quoted a definition of the theory from the Encyclopedia Britannica, which reads: “Critical race theory (CRT), the view that race, instead of being biologically grounded and natural, is socially constructed and that race, as a socially constructed concept, functions as a means to maintain the interests of the white population that constructed it.”
These members of the community pointed out that the definition of CRT used in the course syllabus was misleading, with one woman saying it was not a “legal theory” but a way of criticizing the American legal system. She said CRT opposes the Constitution and was created apart from the Civil Rights movement, not from it. Another man pointed out that it came about in the late 80s, and another called the theory, &#8220;Marxist.&#8221;
Brad Schaeffer, who provided video of the event to The Daily Wire, spoke up to ask whether books by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas or conservative author Thomas Sowell would be included in the curriculum. Schaeffer, a history buff who has written for The Daily Wire, suggested the course not only needed to get history right, it needed to get it complete.
It wasn’t until an hour into the discussion that a person of color spoke. Another person of color – a student at Westfield High School – welcomed the course and criticized the school for holding an event where a speaker suggested the school was “not a place of hate.” A Hispanic-Italian woman said the reading material for the course would divide students, while another white man suggested the course ignored the teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. and put people into “groups” based on the color of their skin.
Still others suggested the course needed to be expanded to include other populations who were also oppressed upon arrival in America, such as Jews or the Irish. Others responded by suggesting a future class based on religious persecution and keeping this course about race.
Over the objections of board members, one of whom sought to have a social studies teacher come to speak to the board about the course (no experts spoke to the board during a meeting) before a vote was held, the board voted to pass the course curriculum. Three of the nine board members objected, two because they wanted to address the issues brought up by the community and one because of her statement regarding the racism of critical race theory.
Westfield prides itself on diversity, but the town is 88% white, about 3% black, and the remaining 9% made up of other racial minorities. The median household income is $127,000.

White guilt

‘Power, Privilege And Imbalance In American Society’ Course That Teaches ‘Critical Race Theory’ Is Coming To A New Jersey High School

Education

Racism

A New Jersey councilwoman, defending a colleague who reportedly used the term &#8220;Jew down&#8221; to describe a Jewish attorney’s negotiating tactics, initially said the term wasn’t anti-Semitic before outrage erupted and she apologized.
Trenton City Councilwoman Robin Vaughn, protesting that she didn’t remember Council President Kathy McBride reportedly using the term to describe Assistant City Attorney Peter Cohen’s successful negotiation with a local resident, saying he was &#8220;able to wait her out and Jew her down,&#8221; still defended McBride, asserting, &#8220;We really need to get a more acute meaning and understanding of &#8216;anti-Semitic.&#8217; I believe her comment &#8216;Jew down&#8217; was more in reference to negotiating, not &#8216;I hate Jews.&#8217; Inappropriate in today’s PC culture absolutely, but to Jew someone down is a verb and is not anti-anything or indicative of hating Jewish people.&#8221;
<a href="https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/trenton-councilwoman-calls-jew-down-a-verb-says-it-referred-to-negotiating-and-not-hate/?fbclid=IwAR044Ab7m5agT_o5jSBg8xrWaWCoinv4Az-JbSML7Y1gzeIT7Y8g9BeXbGU">The New Jersey Globe</a> reported, “But Vaughn appears to contradict her own statement, saying that McBride was not talking about a specific person but rather discussing the &#8216;settlement of a low-dollar amount.&#8221; After the New Jersey Globe <a href="https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/trenton-council-president-uses-jew-her-down-slur-in-meeting/">reported McBride’s alleged statements,</a> McBride stated, &#8220;I am not at privilege to speak about anything at executive session per the law that governs executive sessions. It was an executive session and by the law I am not privy to speak on that per the law.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.trentonian.com/news/trenton-mayor-demands-apology-over-council-president-kathy-mcbride-s/article_32e03d72-d662-11e9-a820-43207c79f7a4.html">The Trentonian</a> reported, &#8220;The Sept. 5 agenda showed the council met in executive session to discuss settling Vivian Soto’s lawsuit. Soto filed suit against the city in 2017, alleging she was seriously injured when she tripped over a downed tree on a city sidewalk in October 2016. The law department recommended settling the complaint for $22,500, according to a resolution.&#8221;
Councilman Jerrell Blakeley called for McBride’s resignation. He stated, &#8220;Anti-Semitism has no place in City Hall or anywhere in the world. If she is found to have said this anti-Semitic phrase, I think she should do the responsible thing and resign as city council president. This is not the first time she has used this phrase. I heard her say this same phrase months ago and privately admonished her about the hurt that this term causes to members of the Jewish community.&#8221;
Mayor Reed Gusciora stated: &#8220;As the Mayor of this City that encompasses diverse communities of racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds, I find this to be offensive. This anti-Semitic remark, particularly about an attorney in our law department who happens to be Jewish, should have no place in our public discourse. I hope that after some reflection you would apologize for these remarks.&#8221;
The New Jersey Globe noted that McBride was the third public official to use an anti-Semitic slur in the last month, adding, &#8220;One Tuesday, Paterson City Councilman Michael Jackson accused a developer of trying to &#8216;Jew us down&#8217; on a major redevelopment project. Jeffrey Dye was fired from his job at the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development last month – and forced out of his post as Passaic NAACP president – after a history of anti-Semitic and anti-Latino comments became public.&#8221;
Vaughn, McBride, and Councilman George Muschal, who reportedly used &#8220;Jew down&#8221; while defending McBride, later apologized. <a href="https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/NJ-Politician-Apologizes-for-Using-Anti-Semitic-Trope-560739741.html">NBC Philadelphia</a> reported, &#8220;Councilwoman Robin Vaughn apologized in a statement on Wednesday, saying her comments defending Council President Kathy McBride were wrong and that she was &#8216;sincerely sorry.&#8217; McBride apologized at Tuesday&#8217;s council hearing. Councilman George Muschal, who also used the trope while defending McBride, apologized in a statement early Wednesday.&#8221;

Trenton, NJ

NJ Councilwoman Says ‘Jew Down’ Isn’t Anti-Semitic, Later Apologizes

For his latest man-on-the-street video, conservative filmmaker Austen Fletcher, or Fleccas, headed to Newark, New Jersey, where Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) was once mayor, to document a clean-up effort by some of the residents who said they were inspired by a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50329/trump-supporters-clean-west-baltimore-and-liberal-amanda-prestigiacomo">similar project</a> in crime-ridden and &#8220;rat and rodent-infested&#8221; Baltimore. What Fletcher found were some folks who were not big fans of Booker or the politicians tasked with helping maintain the violence-plagued and trash-strewn area.
In the video, posted on Monday, Fletcher talks with some residents, some of whom are involved in a much-needed clean-up effort in a particularly neglected part of Newark. Several of them have some rather direct comments for political leaders, including Booker, who has moved on from being the mayor of the city to being the U.S. senator who is supposed to be representing it on a federal level.
&#8220;They call this the end of the world down here,&#8221; one minority resident tells Fletcher regarding an apartment complex that&#8217;s become a ghost town filled with drug abuse and other criminal activity. Asked why Newark has declined, one young African American man who&#8217;s helping out with the clean-up tells Fleccas that &#8220;honestly, a lot of it has to do with the representation.&#8221; An older gentleman explains: &#8220;When they get into office, they don&#8217;t do much. They talk a good talk, but they forget all about what they said they were going to do.&#8221;
&#8220;We are the people who vote the mayors in, and we be telling them we need help to get the crime rate down,&#8221; says one elderly African American woman. Asked if she&#8217;s a fan of Sen. Booker, the woman says emphatically, &#8220;No, no! That&#8217;s a definite no! Cory Booker&#8217;s not for the people. Cory Booker is nothing — I wouldn&#8217;t even vote for him to become president or anything else.&#8221;
&#8220;To be honest with you,&#8221; says the young man helping with the community effort, &#8220;if you go into any suburban neighborhood in this country, and you had even a fourth of what you see here, there would be an uproar and people would be fired from their positions immediately, and they&#8217;d make sure the city got fixed.&#8221;
One woman in an American flag shirt, who&#8217;s also volunteering on the project, notes that the mayor of the city wants to make it a &#8220;sanctuary city&#8221; and says flat-out that they simply &#8220;can&#8217;t afford that,&#8221; adding, &#8220;They are not putting their citizens first.&#8221; Asked if she has a message for political leaders, she says tell them to &#8220;stop focusing on hating Trump and look at the people who put you into office.&#8221;
Fleccas — who makes no bones about believing &#8220;Trump&#8217;s not that bad&#8221; — makes sure to draw the residents&#8217; message to the Democratic senator&#8217;s attention. &#8220;The people of Newark have spoken, @CoryBooker,&#8221; Fletcher posted online along with his new video. &#8220;They want you to: Prioritize the American citizens in your district instead of those in the city illegally. Stop focusing all of your energy on hating Trump! Your district needs help!&#8221;
Fletcher&#8217;s tweet and full video below:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">The people of Newark have spoken, <a href="https://twitter.com/CoryBooker?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoryBooker</a>.
They want you to: 
-Prioritize the American citizens in your district instead of those in the city illegally. 
-Stop focusing all of your energy on hating Trump!
Your district needs help!
FULL VIDEO: <a href="https://t.co/x5GhXZpNuq">https://t.co/x5GhXZpNuq</a> <a href="https://t.co/cLMiMA8Unv">pic.twitter.com/cLMiMA8Unv</a>
— Austen Fletcher (@fleccas) <a href="https://twitter.com/fleccas/status/1166002075651792896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50397/watch-trump-critics-presented-racist-comments-james-barrett">WATCH: Trump Critics Presented With ‘Racist’ Comments About Baltimore, Then Learn Who Actually Said Them</a>

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New Jersey

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Jersey Man Arrested For Legal Gun, Ammo, Plans To Sue Over Ordeal

New Jersey Drops Illegal Weapon Charges Against Security Guard With Legal Weapon, Ammo

New Jersey Man Arrested For Carrying His Licensed Handgun and Legal Ammunition

FRANKEL: A Powerful Display Of Jewish Values In New Jersey

Five Current, Former New Jersey Public Officials Arrested For Bribery

SEE IT: Rep. Tlaib Blames ‘White Supremacy’ For Murder Of Jews, Cop By Suspected Black Supremacist In Now-Deleted Tweet, Gets Blasted Online

‘Power, Privilege And Imbalance In American Society’ Course That Teaches ‘Critical Race Theory’ Is Coming To A New Jersey High School

NJ Councilwoman Says ‘Jew Down’ Isn’t Anti-Semitic, Later Apologizes

WATCH: Newark Residents Have Some Brutal Comments For Cory Booker, Dem Politicians

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New Jersey Health Official Says He Was Fired For Refusing To Give Coronavirus Tests To Family Of Governor’s Top Aide

Deer Injures 3 Protesters During Black Lives Matter March In New Jersey

Democrat Gov Threatened Gym Not To Re-Open In Defiance Of Lockdown Order. They Did It Anyway.

WATCH: Officer Refuses To Enforce Democrat Gov’s Lockdown Order At Re-Opened Gym; Angry Governor Responds

MITSOTAKIS: An Interview With Rik Mehta, The Conservative Pharmacist Taking On Cory Booker For Senate In New Jersey

‘Come Out Of Your Ivory Tower’: NJ Governor Under Fire From Unemployed Residents, Promises: ‘You Won’t Lose A Penny’

WATCH: Teacher Yells At Teenagers Playing Football, ‘I Hope You Get The Coronavirus … Die A Long, Painful Death’

Three Hardest-Hit, Democrat-Run States Force Nursing Homes To Accept Recovering COVID Patients, Face Backlash

17 Bodies Found In New Jersey Nursing Home Morgue, Police Unsure If Deaths Coronavirus Related

WATCH: NJ Governor Confronted On Violating Bill Of Rights By Banning Religious Services, Gives Viral Response

UPDATE: Trump Issues ‘Travel Advisory’ For New York, Rejects ‘Enforceable’ Quarantine

Jersey Man Arrested For Legal Gun, Ammo, Plans To Sue Over Ordeal

New Jersey Drops Illegal Weapon Charges Against Security Guard With Legal Weapon, Ammo

New Jersey Man Arrested For Carrying His Licensed Handgun and Legal Ammunition

FRANKEL: A Powerful Display Of Jewish Values In New Jersey

Five Current, Former New Jersey Public Officials Arrested For Bribery

SEE IT: Rep. Tlaib Blames ‘White Supremacy’ For Murder Of Jews, Cop By Suspected Black Supremacist In Now-Deleted Tweet, Gets Blasted Online

‘Power, Privilege And Imbalance In American Society’ Course That Teaches ‘Critical Race Theory’ Is Coming To A New Jersey High School

NJ Councilwoman Says ‘Jew Down’ Isn’t Anti-Semitic, Later Apologizes

WATCH: Newark Residents Have Some Brutal Comments For Cory Booker, Dem Politicians

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