Hoboken Mayor, Family Get Death Threats; Breach At City Hall

HOBOKEN, NJ — He told security officers that he was just going to the bathroom. But in the face of death threats to Hoboken Mayor Ravinder Bhalla and his family, local authorities are taking a serious look at a man’s surreptitious nighttime visit to City Hall on Thursday.

According to city officials, around 8 p.m., a man entered City Hall through the Newark Street entrance. The man went through the building’s metal detectors and told security guards that he was just going to use the restroom.

But that wasn’t all he had in mind, authorities said.

A spokesperson for the Hoboken Mayor’s Office offered the following statement about the incident:

“At the time, the only person in the Mayor's Office was Deputy Chief of Staff Jason Freeman. Mayor Bhalla was on his way to the office following a community meeting. From his office, Mr. Freeman observed that a bag with an object had been thrown in the direction of the administrative assistant's desk and made eye contact with the individual. The individual then ran out of the Mayor's Office. Mr. Freeman called the police, which are currently investigating the incident.”

Bhalla said that the Joint Terrorism Task Force has evaluated the building and is working to beef up security for himself and visitors at City Hall.

“This incident, along with death threats to me and my family, is an unfortunate reminder that we need to take security seriously,” Bhalla said.

A spokesperson for the Mayor's Office said that he couldn't elaborate on the nature of the threats.

Bhalla made local history as the city’s first Sikh mayor last November, amid a last-minute “smear flyer” campaign that attempted to brand him as a “terrorist.”

• See related article: Hoboken Elects 1st Sikh Mayor; Hate Flyers Don't Stop Bhalla

"We take incidents like these incredibly seriously and will continue working to ensure the security of the mayor and everyone who visits City Hall," Hoboken Police Chief Kenneth Ferrante said Friday.

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Photo: City of Hoboken