Assemblywoman Vicky Flynn criticized Democratic lawmakers on Fox & Friends, attributing recent violence at the Jersey Shore during Memorial Day weekend to what she described as soft-on-crime policies. Flynn spoke with host Lawrence B. Jones about her concerns regarding the state’s direction under Governor Phil Murphy, stating that safety has deteriorated over the past seven years.
Flynn recounted her efforts last Thursday in the Assembly to override Governor Murphy’s conditional veto of a bipartisan bill aimed at giving law enforcement stronger tools to address pop-up parties and brawls along the shore. The bill had passed unanimously in both chambers, but Democrats tabled Flynn’s motion and accepted amendments from Murphy, which she argued weakened the legislation and introduced potential First Amendment complications.
“We’ve got to give law enforcement the tools to investigate these crimes, to stop them from happening,” Flynn (R-Monmouth) said. “And the Trenton Democrats decided to [table] my attempt to override the veto and, here we are, we had a weekend of chaos which I sadly predicted would happen. And it wasn’t just at the shore. It’s at our malls now, and that’s a big problem.”
Despite measures such as a 10 p.m. curfew for minors and increased police presence, authorities in Seaside Heights arrested 73 people over Memorial Day weekend—including 21 juveniles—after several incidents of violence. Police also charged a 21-year-old Beachwood man with possession of a firearm following an altercation near Grant and Ocean Terrace avenues. Three separate stabbings occurred within one block of the boardwalk, leading officials to close it just after midnight on Monday.
The original bill (S3507/A4652), which passed with bipartisan support in the Legislature, would have made inciting a public brawl a fourth-degree crime punishable by up to 18 months in prison and fines up to $10,000. Penalties for disorderly persons offenses would increase as well, with attempts to conceal identity during such incidents also classified as an offense.
Flynn expressed disappointment that these measures were not enacted before Memorial Day weekend: “Over the last seven years there have been numerous policies adopted and lack of enforcement that prevent law enforcement from taking action to prevent what’s going on and what you’re seeing at the shore. We have laws that prevented law enforcement from engaging with minors who might be caught drinking alcohol or smoking pot,” Flynn said. “Just because of these left-leaning type policies to allow these types of behaviors. [Republicans] have taken a lot of action to reverse those policies.”
Flynn also referenced an incident at Menlo Park Mall on May 17 where more than 300 teens and young adults gathered and fought, resulting in seven arrests.
“The soft-on-crime policies of our state have led to what we’re seeing right now at our boardwalks,” Flynn said. “…They are sick and tired of their state being overrun by soft-on-crime type policies.”
