Hoboken Asks NJ Attorney General To Investigate Racist Flyers

HOBOKEN, NJ — Although police interviewed four people in connection with anonymous racist flyers placed around Hoboken during the 2017 mayoral election, a perpetrator was never found. After news broke last week that the New Jersey attorney general has issued subpoenas regarding racist election flyers in Edison the same year, five Hoboken council members have publicly asked the attorney general to look into the Hoboken flyers as well.

An investigation into the Hoboken situation could lead up the chain to a major political player in Hudson County politics, particularly timely with another mayoral election set for November.

On Saturday, Hoboken City Council members Mike DeFusco, Vanessa Falco, Jen Giattino, Tiffanie Fisher, and Ruben Ramos — who are sometimes at odds with Mayor Ravi Bhalla — released a joint statement calling on the Attorney General's office to include the Hoboken racist flier incident:

"While we are glad to see the Attorney General open an investigation into the despicable racist mailer that was distributed in Edison," they wrote, "it is incredibly disheartening that an eerily similar incident that happened here in Hoboken has not been given this level of scrutiny by law enforcement."

The Hoboken flyers were placed on car windshields in 2017, four days before a close election between Bhalla and DeFusco. They said, “Don’t let TERRORISM take over our town" and displayed a photo of Bhalla, a Sikh American.

The flyers, which made national news, had language pasted on them to make it appear that DeFusco created them. DeFusco quickly denounced the flyers. He lost to Bhalla by approximately 500 votes.

The five council members said on Saturday, "The impact that this racist filth had on our community is no less than what the residents of Edison were subjected to, and Hoboken residents deserve the same kind of action from law enforcement. As members of the Hoboken City Council, we are hereby calling on Attorney General Grewal to broaden his investigation."

Bhalla said this week that he agreed with an investigation into the matter.

"I’ll never forget having to explain to my young children why their dad was called a terrorist — something they should never have to experience again," he said. "This was a painful time for my family, and it’s my sincere hope that no other family will ever have to go through any similar circumstances. Anyone responsible for this heinous act should be brought to justice, and I fully support any and all further investigations to hold those people accountable.”

'Refused to speak to us'

In 2017, theories abounded on who was behind the Hoboken whodunnit. The Hoboken police said they could investigate the matter as a bias crime. But as has happened with past accusations of election meddling in the mile-square city, no one was brought to justice. (As an exception, former Hoboken Councilman Frank Raia received a three-month jail sentence in 2019 for a voter bribery scheme six years earlier.)

What was unusual in the 2017 investigation was that the police were able to view videotape of people allegedly putting the racist flyers on cars. They ultimately questioned four people. But according to police, the individuals declined to speak.

Captain Charles Campbell told the Hoboken Reporter in 2018, “Some people have outright refused to speak to us without the presence of their attorney."

In Edison earlier this month, the mayor and council asked the attorney general to probe the 2017 flyers after accusations were made against current officials.

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