Man Charged With Bias Intimidation At Secaucus Church

SECAUCUS, NJ — A Secaucus man was arrested Sunday outside the Episcopal Church of Our Savior after police said he started yelling at a church member for his sexual orientation.

Alfred Viggiano, 73, has an arrest record for similar charges in the past, including bias intimidation.

Secaucus Police say at 6 p.m. Sunday, March 8 Viggiano walked up to the church on Flanagan Way and started verbally attacking a parishioner at the church. Viggiano approached the man unprovoked, and started making derogatory comments about the man's sexual orientation, said police.

Someone at the church called 911 and police responded. Viggiano was charged with bias intimidation [2C:16-1A(2)] and harassment [2C:33-4B]. Viggiano was issued a complaint warrant to appear in court, and taken to the Hudson County Jail.

Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller declined to reveal exactly what Viggiano said to the man.

Viggiano told Patch he walked up to the church and asked them to hang an American flag.

"I asked them why they didn't want to hang an American flag," he said.

"Our church has a decades-long commitment to gay rights," said Rev. Fletcher Harper, pastor at the Secaucus Episcopal Church. "We value the God-given dignity and safety of our members and all people — gay, trans, bisexual and straight. This incident reminds us how much work remains to overcome prejudice so that everyone can live free from the threat of harassment or violence."

This is not Viggiano's first arrest:

In 2023, he was similarly charged with bias intimidation and harassment at the Dunkin' Donuts on Paterson Plank Road. In that instance, he was charged with intimidating people based on their ethnicity.

In 2022, during the COVID pandemic, he yelled racial slurs at an Asian man and woman while they were walking on Riverside Station Boulevard. He told them “take off your masks and go back to your country," said police. His arrest at that time: Man Charged With Yelling Bias Slurs At Xchange In Secaucus

In 2021, he was arrested and accused of threatening an employee at the Hudson Wine store on Roosevelt Avenue with a knife, NJ.com reported.