Anonymous Threats Toward Edison School Board Member Prompt Call For Action

EDISON, NJ — The Edison Board of Education made a call for action after anonymous threats and intimidating messages were made toward one of its members.

During the board’s meeting on Tuesday night, the board unanimously passed a resolution condemning “threats, intimidation and harassment” directed towards the board member.

According to the resolution, the board member (who was not named) received anonymous threatening and intimidating messages, including:

• “We know where you live and we know where you work. Don’t make it harder for yourself.”
• “There is a way to do this, and there is a really hard way to do this.”
• “You have been warned.”

“Such messages are not expressions of civic disagreement or protected political debate, but instead are deliberate acts of intimidation intended to pressure, threaten and interfere with an elected official’s discharge or their duties and responsibilities,” the resolution reads.

“Such threats and acts of harassment towards elected officials and their families create fear and undermine public trust, thereby damaging the democratic process.”

The board went on to denounce this behavior and rhetoric, adding that it won’t tolerate such conduct towards board members, district employees, volunteers, family members and members of the public.

The board then called on all Edison Township elected officials, appointed officials, and citizens to stand with the targeted board member.

The board also requested that Edison Police, the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office, the NJ Office of the Attorney General, the FBI in Newark and all other appropriate authorities “treat this matter with the highest degree of seriousness, launch a full, impartial and thorough investigation into the perpetrators and hold them accountable to the full extent of the law.”

“The board shall fully support any investigation into these threats and acts of harassment,” the resolution states.

While the board did not name which of its members had been targeted by these messages, a report from My Central Jersey said that earlier in the week, board member Anjana Patel posted a public Facebook video where she said that she received messages through WhatsApp.

She went on to say that residents may disagree with her recent vote on the Talmadge Road land deal, but threats and intimidation as a response to that “are not democracy.”

“In that moment, I wasn’t thinking as a BOE member. I was thinking as a mother,” Patel said in the video. “I joined public service to help children and families. I never imagined it would bring fear into my own home.”

According to Patel, a police complaint has been filed regarding the messages.

Upon adoption of the board's resolution, board officials said a certificated copy of the resolution will be transmitted to authorities, including but not limited to Edison Police, the Office of the Middlesex County Sheriff and the NJ Office of the Attorney General.

To see a full recording of Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting, you can watch here.