Man Arrested After Facebook Post About Congressman Chris Smith

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A man was arrested Saturday after police said he wrote a Facebook post that could be interpreted as violent or even possibly a death threat against Republican New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith.

Dereal Finklin, 43, of Plainfield, was arrested on Saturday, July 28, a spokesman for the Monmouth County prosecutor confirmed to Patch on Thursday. He was charged with making terroristic threats.

Finklin posted a picture of Smith on Facebook with the caption “dead man walking,” according to More Monmouth Musings, a local conservative news blog in Monmouth County.

Smith told NJ.com that a retired police officer saw the post and contacted his office; it is not clear who then referred the post to Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni, who had Finklin arrested. Finklin's detention hearing is set for 9 a.m. on Aug. 8 in front of Judge McGann in Monmouth County criminal court. He will be held at the Monmouth County jail until then.

It is a felony to make a threatening statement against a U.S. government official.

Finklin's Facebook page is set to private, so it is not possible to see the Facebook post.

Rep. Smith is a Republican congressman who has represented New Jersey's fourth congressional district for decades. He is in an increasingly heated and contentious race to keep the seat from challenger Josh Welle, a Democrat who hopes to unseat him this fall in the 2018 midterms.

Rep. Smith told More Monmouth Musings the following about Finklin's arrest (watch the video below):

"It's not the first time, and frankly, it inspires me to work even harder against that kind of menace sadly, which is growing in our society," Rep. Smith said. "The people who are aggressive we get in our office all the time. I've had my tires slashed ... and my strongest feeling is we can't let that kind of tactic win. Public service is too important. Making sure people get honest and just laws, which is what I strive to do ... This certainly is not the first one, it won't be the last one. But I'm more determined now than ever."

He also told NJ.com that attacks on him skyrocketed after the 2016 presidential election won by Trump.

"I've never seen it like it's been the last two years, even before the election, and it went up like a rocket after (the 2016 election)," Smith said.

Do YOU live in New Jersey's Fourth Congressional District?

New Jersey's Fourth Congressional District includes nearly all of Monmouth County, from part of Middletown and Holmdel on south, into Colts Neck, Freehold, Jackson, Plumstead and Point Pleasant in Ocean County and a small sliver of Mercer County (Hamilton and Robbinsville). See if you live in New Jersey's Fourth Congressional District here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

The midterm election is Nov. 6.

Official Congressional photo of Rep. Chris Smith.