Sussex County GOP chairman addresses road rage charges

First of all, the state police says that this was a road rage incident, that you pulled out a weapon from your holster and you brandished it and pointed it at the other driver. Is that the case? No, not at all. Tell me what happened. I'm driving home. A few vehicle lengths in front of me was a green SUV. The green SUV stops in the middle of the road with its hazard lights on. I just come to a slow stop. I'm waiting to see what he's going to do. He pulls over to the right. Okay. He has his hazard lights on. I pull up on his left as if to pass him. But like I always do, I, if I see somebody on the side of the road, I see if they're okay. This is a few miles from my house. I've lived all over America. I've adapted to custom. If you're on the side of the road, I ask you if you're all right. I roll down the passenger side window. I'm in the car like this. I'm like, hey, you all right? And then he loads on curses and insults and he's just like berating me like you wouldn't believe. He says you're driving like an asshole, used a lot of four letter words. All right, whatever. So I'm going to keep going. Then I heard shoot and at me. At that point, I'm a concealed carry holder. I'm licensed. At that point, I am not going to turn my back figuratively in the vehicle on somebody who has made a threat to my life. At that point, the safest thing I can do for myself is stop, secure my weapon, look at him and say, sir, I'm armed. When he saw me do this, because I pulled it out to secure the weapon, the weapon was like this. Muzzle was in the holster. The receiver was visible. He started to panic. At that point, I had only seen one hand. At that point, I see two hands. He's shrieking, he's panicking. It sounded like a hysterical type thing. I can't even remember what was said. Seeing two hands with no weapon in it, I realized I was safe. I also knew I was going to call the police right away because that's what the concealed weapons permit training says to do. Plus, I come from a family of police. Plus, I'm a retired military officer, command inspector general. I do everything by the book. So. So you're saying that he said shoot. What did he exactly say? It sounded like I'm going to shoot you or you're going to get shot. Is that what you believe he said? Yes. So this person describes your weapon clearly. Yes. As a 6R P365X. How would he have been able to see that if you were in the car? Because I will. Number one, his vehicle was higher than mine, so he could look down clearly and see into my side. So from this point, he was able to see the actual weapon. But then when I decided that he was safe and he didn't have another, he didn't have a weapon, I knew the police were going to come. I was going to call them. I took the weapon, I popped it, and I put it in my console, and then I closed my console. So he would have seen the entire weapon go into my console. And plus, it's a lucky guess because it's a very common weapon. I mean, almost every concealed carry holder I know carries a P365. So your attorney was saying that he was screaming, acting as a he, right? Yes. Erratically. So tell me what he was, like, what was he saying? It sounded like a blur. It was something like you drive like a a**hole, you're an a**hole, a**hole, a**hole, a**hole, a couple F-bombs, and that's all I remember. Once I start getting screamed at with curses, that's like my mind shuts off. I'm like, all right, I was ready to get out of there. And how old was this person? He seemed to my age or older. He had a gray beard, and I believe he had glasses. Did you know there was a child in the car? No, windows were tinted. I had no idea there was anybody in the car. That was part of the problem is I couldn't see in that vehicle. I had no idea what was going on in that vehicle. And when I heard the word shoot, then I didn't know what was going on. My political leaders have been under death threats. I've had death threats. I've had people drive into my driveway and scream at my wife, they're going to cut my throat because of politics. We've reported that to the police. I'm alert and I'm vigilant. Where did this happen exactly? Stillwater, not too far from my house, about a mile, a mile or two from my house. On Millbrook, right? In what area? It would have been in Stillwater. Okay. And did you at any point pull your weapon out and point it at this man? No, ma'am. No, ma'am. That is not what I do. I do not point weapons at people unless my life's in danger and unless I have to, you know, do something that I would hopefully never have to do. So why do you think the way the police report was written was written that way? I can't answer for that. Do you think you're being framed? No. I don't know. I can't speculate. I imagine there's two sides of the story, and I know that when I called the police, the dispatcher said, yeah, he's calling you in at the same time. He's called, as we're talking, as they were talking to me, the dispatcher told me, and then I went and called. Yeah, he's calling you in too. So they directed me to go to a spot where I could call the police and they could meet, where they, where the police can meet me. So I did. They go, where are you going to be? I said, I'm going to be in the parking lot of a restaurant called the Hideaway. It's going to be in Stillwater. They said, okay. Do you think at any point you may have misheard him? I don't think so. Do you think he panicked and he thought you were going to shoot him? I don't think so. I don't know. I can't speculate, ma'am. I can just tell you what happened. How would you describe his behavior? Hysterical, excitable from the very beginning. Angry, hysterical, and excitable from the very beginning. And lots of curse words for no reason. So also with the police report, they say that you left the scene, right? And then in a statement that the attorney says the driver, you know, told them what, that you had pointed the gun, but you say that you actually stayed there and the driver sped away? He never left the scene. Do I have the answer? No. I basically backed up so I could clear the situation. I'm still on, I guess, technically on the scene. I back up, okay? So I'm not going to pull in front of somebody who just threatened me. Regardless, even though I see there's no weapon, I don't want to pull in front of them. So I put the car in reverse and I back up and I'm watching. I know I'm going to call the police. I see him stop because he had moved up. I see him stop. I figured he was calling the police. I turn around. I call the police. It happened just like that. So they arrested you at the restaurant though, at the hideaway, right? In the parking lot of the restaurant. So how did they arrest you there? Was it that you had left and they thought everything was okay? No. When I called the police, the dispatcher said, go to a place the troopers can meet you. Where are you now? And I said, I am right in view of this place. And in the area, they said, go there and wait. So I went there and I waited for the troopers to show up. Members of your own party are asking you to step aside. That's not correct. They're saying that I should basically take some time off. So this way I can focus on this. They're looking out for my best interests. I've spoken with all of them and they want me to take some time off and focus on the family because handling this, this is like a full-time job. So that's what they've done. I love my leaders. I love my fellow chairs. I love my elected leaders. We get along great. We're all, we're all friends and I've supported them loyally, vigorously for three years and I have their support. Is this a little emotional for you that you notice, you know, it must be difficult. I mean, what, fought two wars or how was it? It's hurtful that I can go into foreign countries. I can wield immense weapons of war. I can lead America's young people, but in the state of New Jersey, carrying a weapon brands me as a criminal. It is hurtful to have that. How are you going to defend this case? First of all, it comes down to what he said, she said, that's what this is all about. You clearly have an out of control driver, the other driver. Nobody stops their car in the middle of the main road and puts their flashers on and stays there. That's number one. When he does that, if my client, if the chairman was out of control, lunatic, however anybody is describing him, if that was done that way, he would have taken off and just kept going. He pulls up next to the car, rolls his window down and asks, starts to ask, is everything okay? In line, direct line with his training, what everybody's missing here, Christine, I might say this with most respect, what everybody is missing is the fact that he is a decorated war veteran. Marines, United States Army, I believe two bronze stars, if I'm not mistaken, two bronze stars, okay, among other things. He's trained, he's different, okay. When I say different, respect the way he's trained. He is under control, okay. So far, everybody's been talking about how there was a child in the car. So this man, okay, who risked his life day in and day out for years in the military, five different tours, he's going to point a weapon in a car where there's an 18-month-old child in the backseat. The entire story is both bizarre and absurd. We're looking forward to, you know, if we have to defend this in court of trial, hey, let's, let's, you know, let's call this jury in tomorrow if we had to, and I'm saying that figuratively, but there's no problem. He's not, he's pleading, you know, what's his plea? It's just complete, not only were his actions in conformance with his training, but none of his actions that day violated any rule, regulation, or law. No 2C violation, nothing. He did nothing that was violative of any New Jersey state statute, and I believe that's going to be fairly easy to prove and fairly evident. And he's out, you're out on bail now? No bail, no more bail in New Jersey. He had detention hearing, but there wasn't, hey listen, the prosecutors almost did the right thing. They didn't even file for detention here. He simply had the initial appearance of a complaint, and he was released. Uh, when I, when I first pulled up to him, yeah, bored, like, are you okay? Oh, you all right? Uh, then shocked when I get berated with all those curse words, then numerous, like, look at this crazy guy, and then when I heard the word shoot, uh, I, I, you know, I, I went to a state of vigilance that's necessary for the situation. Did you lose your temper, would you say? No. Um, just to get everything straight, um, you were, were you arrested at the highway parking lot? Yes, sir. They did handcuff you? Yes, sir. You were processed in Morristown? No, sir. Oh, I was, uh, processed in the state trooper station in Sussex County, and then I was sent to jail in Morristown. How long did you spend in jail? Two days. Two days in jail? Monday night. Um, and just regarding the gun, the gun never, was never removed from your holster? It was removed, not, the muzzle never came out of the holster until I put it in the console. Okay, so at some point, it didn't come completely out? So I could get my hand, so I could get my hand around the grip if I had to use it. Okay. That was all it was. It wasn't to brandish it or show it off or scare anybody. It was just to get control of the weapon in case he delivered, God forbid, I saw a weapon pop up out of that window. Do you think maybe he misunderstood you? Maybe he... I can't speculate, ma'am. I don't know what's going through that man's mind. Were there any, there are no, it's just one road, right? Yes. You can't really pull over anywhere on that one. Millbrook? Yes. No, they did not impound the car. They were very professional, and as usual, New Jersey State Police are the best police in the world, in my view. Completely agree, ma'am. They were very professional. Actually, I do have a question. As you said, some of your fellow Republicans are saying, why don't you just not step aside, just temporarily step away. Do you plan on doing that? No. I'm going to do a reduced work hours for the party. I'm going to put a lot more work on my team. They're ready for that, because as the chair in a volunteer organization, you drive the show. 80, 90% of it is you driving the show. I'm going to put a lot more work on them so I can focus on my family. The key thing is my family's very shaken up. I am not shaken up. I realize this is what it is, and I'm ready to deal with it, but my family's very shaken up. I'm married. I have three daughters, and my wife is pregnant about to give birth. I got to spend a lot of time making sure they feel secure, they feel safe, they feel comfortable, and I'm going to do a bunch more reduced work hours with the party. I would basically call this extended personal time, but by no means am I resigning or relinquishing my chairmanship. I was elected by this committee. I was elected for a term, and I'm going to do my duty by this committee for that term. If I can add to that, why would he step down? Why would he step aside? That's like somebody making a wild accusation against myself or my partner as an attorney and saying, don't practice law for a period of time until this is paid up. I mean, why? And who are these people to pull for him to step aside, to step down, whatever it may be? It's America. And listen, I don't want to wax too poetic here, all right? But I mean, you're telling somebody to step down? The case hasn't been tried. Nobody knows what the true facts are, and people are presumed to be innocent. Last time I looked at the Constitution, I think that verbiage was still in there. So again, why would he step aside? Absolutely not. Of course, these are essentially your colleagues. I mean, this isn't just, these aren't your political opponents. The political opponents are asking that I resign. Yeah, sure. But the leadership of the, basically, the Republican elected leaders are the ones who said you need to step back. That's the words they used. But as we know, sometimes we use words with different connotations Just one more question. I'm just going to get a two-shot. So what do these charges carry? We're not, you know, saying we're done. Mandatory. I can answer that succinctly. There's four separate charges, okay? None of which can possibly be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, not even close. But the one charge that everybody's talking about, it's a secondary offense, okay? And there's mandatory incarceration. That comes with that secondary, if you're convicted. Mandatory state prison time. There's no way, the way I see it, I've tried a few cases in my career, there's no way that that could possibly, like I said, be proven that second degree. He never took his weapon out and pointed it at anybody that day. Again, this is a war veteran, five different tours. He's not the lunatic. The other fellow, the other driver, who knows what's going through that guy's mind. That's the only right answer. Sure. What about your day job? I have a report pending. I'm suspended with pay. They have to by their protocols, but I have a lot of support at work. And they have to because it's a public job? Yes, sir. Okay. What's that job, sir? I'm the program director for economic development and agriculture. And I assume that's until pending charges? Yes. Yes. I'm very blessed. The outcry of support I've had has been very touching.