Anti-Hate Group Sues Bridgewater For Release Of Residents' Email Addresses

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — If you signed up to receive Bridgewater Township's newsletter, your email address may soon be shared with an anti-hate group.

Rise Against Hate, a 501 (c)(3) group founded by New Jersey residents Benjamin Shore and De’onte Hannah, recently filed lawsuits against several municipalities in an effort to inform residents about, what the group says, are racial disparities among the police departments in their towns.

Lawsuits were filed against Bridgewater Township, Montclair, Cherry Hill, and West Deptford after Rise Against Hate submitted a public record request for access to the towns' newsletter mailing lists and was denied.

"When this organization demanded that the Township turn over our residents' e-mail addresses under OPRA, I said 'No'—and I instructed the Township Attorney and his office to protect our residents' expectation of privacy through all legal means," said Bridgewater Mayor Matthew Moench. "We refused to be bullied by Rise Against Hate, because they have made it perfectly clear that they likely intend to use this information to besmirch the men and women of the Bridgewater Police Department to the very residents these officers protect."

Despite opposition, a judge ruled in favor of the anti-hate group in all of the towns, except Montclair which is still awaiting a hearing. However, Cherry Hill is appealing the decision. And a judge ruled a stay on Bridgewater's ruling until Cherry Hill's appeal is decided.

"Bridgewater residents should have the right to decide which organizations do and do not have access to their contact information, and for 'Rise Against Hate' to try to decide for them through the abuse of the Open Public Records Act is as arrogant as it is pathetic. Our residents have an expectation of privacy regarding their personal contact information, which this Administration will fight to uphold," said Moench. "If they are this desperate to grab people's e-mail addresses, maybe they should spend more money on outreach and less on litigation. "

"The Open Public Records Act exists to guarantee the transparency of local government, not to build-out the e-mail lists of activist organizations from across the state. These Bridgewater residents did not volunteer or even consent to give their contact information to Rise Against Hate. This is an injustice to our residents and an irresponsible abuse of OPRA, and it shouldn’t be allowed," said Council President Filipe Pedroso.

Shore says his group's purpose in gaining access to residents' emails is to inform them about their findings in regards to racial disparities in their towns.

"We believe people have the right to know about these statistics and that a person of color has an increased risk by being present in the township," said Shore. "We just want to inform them. People have the right to know if there is an increased risk of danger."

Shore made several allegations claiming from 2012 to 2016 a Black person is almost 1000 percent more likely to be subject to police force than a white person based on population in Bridgewater. He also claimed one township officer had 16 uses of force against people of color. These statistics have not been published.

Bridgewater officials and Police Chief Paul Payne denied these claims.

"The narrative this group is trying to manufacture is divorced from reality. Every single use-of-force report generated by this Department is reviewed internally by our supervisors, by the Somerset County Prosecutor, and by the Attorney General of the State of New Jersey. It's easy to make cheap generalizations from the other side of the state, but here in Bridgewater we enforce accountability and transparency," said Payne.

"In fact, an Internal Affairs investigation is automatically triggered anytime a supervisor or a subject — the person against whom force was used — makes a complaint," Payne continued. "We have had exactly zero substantiated complaints in the past 10 years, because my officers have the training and the professionalism our residents expect and demand of us. Baseless suggestions to the contrary are uninformed and irresponsible."

Shore noted that with the email addresses, residents will be able to receive their information and if they choose they can also unsubscribe from their mailing list.

Shore of Cherry Hill started the group with Hannah following the death of George Floyd where after then Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes in 2020.

The group has also partnered with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP) to offer biased training to police departments.

"We don't just identify the problem, we help solve it and provide resources needed if the township is interested," said Shore.

Moench did not agree with Rise Against Hate's intentions.

"The professionalism, integrity and expertise of the Bridgewater Police are not in question. If 'Rise Against Hate' is pretentious enough to lecture the residents of this Township about the merits of our own police force while attempting to poach their contact information, they’re going to be sorely disappointed to discover that Chief Payne and his officers enjoy the steadfast and enthusiastic support of the people who actually live here," said Moench. "We hope the Appellate Division will side with the people of all municipalities throughout New Jersey, and protect their contact information from exploitative groups like this one."

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