LIVINGSTON, N.J. – A video published three years ago showing how a New Jersey school board called the cops because “Trumpish” looking people showed up at a board meeting is making rounds on social media again this week.
Police were called to a Livingston Board of Education meeting after school officials became concerned about a group of unfamiliar men in attendance, with a district employee captured on police body-camera footage saying some of the visitors looked “Trumpish” and “a little scary.”
The incident occurred Aug. 8, 2023, as James O’Keefe and members of O’Keefe Media Group attended a public school board meeting where an equity audit was among the issues being discussed. O’Keefe Media Group later obtained the police body-camera footage and released it publicly at the end of August 2023.
The recording captures discussions among district employees and a responding Livingston police officer about why the group drew attention, whether the visitors had ties to Livingston and what they might be doing at the meeting. The supplied transcript also records an employee saying she was directed to call police and shows officials discussing recording vehicles in the parking lot while an officer offered to run license plates.
- A district employee told police that some unfamiliar attendees looked “Trumpish” and “a little scary.”
- Dispatch audio described the men as being on their phones and unfamiliar to school officials, without identifying criminal activity.
- Body-camera footage captured subsequent discussions about O’Keefe Media Group, the visitors’ connection to Livingston and checking vehicle license plates.
Police Called Over Group of Unfamiliar Men at School Board Meeting
The initial concern centered on a group of roughly eight or nine men who school employees did not recognize. In dispatch audio reproduced in the supplied transcript, the caller said the men were there and “on their phones,” adding that they had never been there before and that their presence caused “a little bit of concern.”
Body-camera footage subsequently captured Toni McLaughlin, identified in the recording as an executive assistant to the superintendent, explaining the concern to a responding officer.
“There’s about 8 of them,” McLaughlin said, according to the transcript, explaining that administrators did not recognize them as former students or parents. She then described the visitors as “different looking,” adding, “Some, they look Trumpish” and “they look a little scary.”
The members of the audience were later identified as O’Keefe and associates from O’Keefe Media Group.
The responding officer at one point asked whether the group could be something “like an Antifa,” before qualifying that comparison. McLaughlin responded, “That’s exactly what we’re thinking,” according to the transcript.
The recording does not show the group being accused of a specific crime before police were summoned. In the dispatch exchange, the behavior described was that the men were unfamiliar and sitting on their phones.
Body Camera Captured Discussion About Journalists and License Plates
Once officials determined that O’Keefe was an investigative journalist, the body camera continued recording conversations between the responding officer and school employees.
The transcript captures the officer questioning why O’Keefe had come to Livingston and discussing whether people without a connection to the township had a right to attend.
The district’s current public-meeting information states that members of the public attend Board of Education meetings and are provided opportunities to comment on school-related topics.
Officer offered to “run their plates” for showing up at board meeting
Another exchange concerned vehicles outside the meeting. A district employee said she had taken video of vehicles in the parking lot, after which the officer said he could run the plates, according to the transcript.
The supplied transcript identifies the employee involved in that discussion as Susan Burman and includes the statement, “I just took video of everybody in our parking lot.” The officer responded that he could run the plates, and the conversation continued about vehicles that might belong to people from outside Livingston.
Contemporary reporting on the footage also described the license-plate discussion. O’Keefe characterized the exchange as police and school officials targeting attendees who appeared different, while other reports noted that the body-camera recording showed an employee offering video of cars in the parking lot.
O’Keefe Confronted District Employee After Obtaining Footage
O’Keefe later approached McLaughlin and asked what she meant by describing attendees as “Trumpish.”
“I don’t feel like commenting now,” she responded, according to the supplied transcript. When O’Keefe asked why she had called police, McLaughlin answered, “Because I was directed to do so.”
The video shows O’Keefe pressing her to identify the superior who issued that direction. She declined to identify the person during the confrontation, although she confirmed that she worked for Superintendent Matthew Block.
O’Keefe’s appearance at the meeting was connected to questions about Livingston Public Schools’ equity initiatives. The district later said it had selected the Rowan University Partnership for Educational Equity and Research Lab and Equity Coaching Inc. to conduct a third-party equity audit as part of its equity goal.
The footage resurfacing years later offers an unusually candid look at the conversations that occurred after officials became concerned about unfamiliar members of the public attending a local government meeting. O’Keefe Media Group originally released the footage Aug. 31, 2023.
Why did Livingston school officials call police?
The dispatch call and body-camera transcript show officials were concerned about roughly eight or nine unfamiliar men attending the meeting. The initial description said they were on their phones and had not been seen at prior meetings.
Who made the “Trumpish” comment?
The footage and contemporary reports identify Toni McLaughlin, an executive assistant in the Livingston school district, as saying some of the unfamiliar attendees looked “Trumpish” and “a little scary.”
Was James O’Keefe at the Livingston school board meeting?
Yes. O’Keefe attended the Aug. 8, 2023 meeting with members of O’Keefe Media Group and later obtained and published police body-camera footage documenting the response to their presence.
Sources: Livingston police body-camera and dispatch transcript supplied to Shore News Network; O’Keefe Media Group video and report; Livingston Public Schools public meeting information; contemporaneous published reports.
