Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla opened up about a letter last year that said in part “we are ready to kill you” in an email blast sent late this afternoon.
“As you may have heard, my friends, neighbors, and colleagues were sent several unsolicited and unwanted packages to our homes that contained racially charged, sexually explicit, and threatening messages, all connected to local politics,” Bhalla began, referring to a municipal court case with a local resident that was settled in June.
“And, last year, my family opened the mail to read multiple death threats that had been made against us. These threats were investigated by law enforcement who continue to diligently pursue the person(s) who made them.”
The undated letter that was allegedly sent to Bhalla’s home is written in black pen on a piece of notebook paper, and while the grammar is poor, contains several threatening phrases.
“Now it’s time to kill you you ****in b**** Muslen [sic] we have already 27 people to kill you … We are ready to kill you on the street ready to blow [up] your house do not walk in the street,” the letter says, ending with violent threats to his wife and kids.
A spokesman for Bhalla, New Jersey’s first Sikh mayor, said he has received at least three death threats since taking office in 2018 and the most recent one referenced here was sent about a year ago.
“Let me be clear. Hoboken is a welcoming, inclusive community. Over the years we have all worked in concrete ways to ensure that remains true. Together we define what it means to live in Hoboken, and together we continue to visibly remain true to our highest ideals as a community and nation,” the mayor continued in the email blast.
He continued that he publicized the situation to further emphasize that Hoboken stands for civility, inclusion, and respect.
“I’ll close by asking us all to show faith in our neighbors and our potential when we work together,” Bhalla stated.
“Disagreement on issues of importance is what it means to live in a democracy, but when it is all said and done, when an election or debate is over, we should always come together as one community, one Hoboken.”
Bhalla has endorsed city council candidates running in Wards 1, 2, 5, and 6 next month and has also expressed an interest in running for the 8th District congressional seat next year, two issues that were touch upon in a poll last weekend, as only HCV reported.