Edison Requests County Prosecutor To Probe Racist Flyer Incident

EDISON, NJ – Edison Mayor Thomas Lankey on Saturday announced he has formally requested the Middlesex County prosecutor to investigate the racist flyer incident from 2017.

The mayor, along with the town council, sent a letter to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone on Friday. Lankey said the letter requests Ciccone to “immediately commence an investigation into the racist flyer that instilled fear into Edison's minority communities and brought shame and embarrassment to our entire Township.”

“With all that is going on in our Country, the time is now for the full force of law enforcement to do everything to find out who is responsible for this awful flyer and charge those responsible, as appropriate,” Lankey said in the statement.

In November 2017, less than a week before local elections, a flyer arrived in mailboxes across Edison. It featured photos of school board members Jerry Shi and Falguni Patel, which were stamped with "deport" and "Make Edison Great Again!" The flyer said that "The Chinese and Indians are taking over our town!"

According to a United States Postal Inspection Service report, six people, including Edison school board members and a council member, were identified for their alleged involvement in the incident.

The report was made public at a council meeting held on Nov. 5

Read More Here: Councilman, BOE Members Named In Edison Racist Flyer Probe

Lankey said that the Prosecutor’s office will investigate the matter and is deferring the case to the Attorney General’s office.

“We urge the Attorney General to act decisively to help us finally put this matter behind us,” he said.

Edison has a large Asian population, particularly Southeast Asian. According to the latest 2019 census, around 48 percent of the town's population is Asian. Caucasians make up around 36.8 percent of the population.

Lankey said the town takes great pride in its diversity, and as such “will not allow this flyer to define our community and the great hardworking people who live here.”

Calling the incident “fear mongering and voter deception,” Lankey said all those involved must be brought to justice to prevent further incidents that hurt the town’s reputation and “undermine the election process.”

“As Mayor of this great community, I will not stand idly by and allow that to happen.”

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