JACKSON-After months of efforts to shut down a Facebook page operating in Ocean County deemed as anti-Semitic, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Attorney General Gurbir Grewal today announced that Rise Up Ocean County has been shut down permanently.
“We just learned that Facebook has decided to take down the public page on the company’s social network called ‘Rise Up Ocean County.’ Facebook’s action comes ten months after the Director of our Division on Civil Rights, Rachel Wainer Apter, first sent a letter to Facebook expressing concerns about racist and anti-Semitic statements on the page. Since then, we’ve consistently and repeatedly made clear our view that the page appeared to violate Facebook’s terms of service, and we appreciate that Facebook has now decided that this kind of hateful rhetoric has no place on its platform,” Governor Murphy said. “There remains much that should be done to stop the spread of hate on the Internet. The Murphy Administration will continue to call out hate whenever and wherever we see it, we will persist in demanding meaningful reforms to address the proliferation of hate online, and we will continue working to make New Jersey a safe and inclusive place for all of our residents.”
Rise Up Ocean County has been aligned with Jackson NJ Strong which sources which wish to remain anonymous involved with the Attorney General’s efforts are also being monitored for possible action.
Today, the Rise Up Ocean County page went silent at around 9:30 am.
Rise Up Ocean County, in recent court filings is alleged to be loosely affiliated with the Jackson Township Republican Club, which has faced criticism of its own including three discrimination lawsuits, multiple forced resignations from public positions and a media campaign targeting the club by high profile national GOP donor Dr. Richard Roberts.
A new lawsuit filed this week against Jackson Township by Jackson Trails LLC claims township officials have worked in concert with administrators of Rise Up Ocean County, Jackson Strong and CUPON, a new group that focuses on overdevelopment issues, in particular with developments associated with the Orthodox Jewish community.
Jackson GOP Club President Todd Porter and GOP County Chairwoman Clara Glory were both cited in the lawsuit for their comments against the Jewish religion. With the growing legal tide rising against the Jackson GOP, Ocean County GOP Chairman Frank Holman met with Dr. Roberts at his Lakewood home on Tuesday to discuss issues of anti-Semitism within the Jackson GOP party.
Porter offered to blast slayer and thrash metal in parks to scare away Jewish families. Glory agreed with a post that described Orthodox Jews as criminals who should be deported.
Many members of the Jackson GOP Club were also active members on Rise Up Ocean County’s page, including Glory, who routinely promoted posts by the group.
