YouTuber Leroy Truth lost a motion for temporary restraints last week in his wrongful arrest case against Union City, though the judge’s ruling also awarded him legal fees to be determined, as well as a review of the pending criminal complaints filed against him.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
” … It is further ordered that any criminal complaints filed against the Plaintiff shall be reviewed by the Presiding Judge of the Municipal Courts of Hudson County to determine if there is probable cause for the issuance of such a complaint,” Hudson County Superior Court Assignment Judge Jeffrey Jablonski ruled on Friday.
“It is further ordered that the Plaintiff’s legal fees and costs shall be reimbursed by the Defendants with a separate order to follow setting forth the amount.”
This came in addition to the application for a preliminary injunction being denied, as well as setting several deadlines for the case.
For example, all written discovery is due by November 1st, all depositions must be completed by December 10th, and a plenary hearing “to resolve the open factual and legal issues” is set for January 21st, 2025 at 9 a.m.
After being arrested at a board of commissioners meeting last month, Truth, whose real name is Leonard Filipowski, wasted little time in filing a lawsuit alleging civil rights violations and wrongful arrest.
His attorney in the matter, Mario Blanch, declined to comment beyond the judge’s ruling.
Filipowski, who describes himself as a First Amendment auditor, has been a persistent thorn in the side to state Senator (D-33)/Union City Mayor Brian Stack since December and the situation has only escalated since his arrest.
Stack, who has blamed North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco, a longtime political adversary of his, for Filipowski’s sudden interest in Union City (both have denied this repeatedly) said in a mailer last month said the “intensified harassment” has included death threats.
The brief filed on Stack’s behalf by attorneys Jeffrey Chiesa, a former New Jersey attorney general and interim U.S. senator, and Mauro Tucci, Jr. and opposing Filipowski’s echoed this sentiment.
“Plaintiff’s misconduct is more than disrespectful, it is dangerous. To date, Plaintiff has engaged in a malicious campaign of online harassment directed at Mayor Stack and
other Union City representatives, which has escalated to ongoing death threats,” the attorneys wrote on August 5th.
“Plaintiff is an agent provocateur masquerading as a journalist who, with no prior
connection to Union City, in December 2023, suddenly swooped in from New York with the
political goal of maligning Mayor Stack and anyone affiliated with him. Plaintiff is openly
affiliated with North Bergen’s mayor and police force. In fact, those same players invited him to speak on ‘First Amendment’ issues at a July gathering of local officials that promptly drew a rebuke from the Hudson County Counsel as a politicized event.”
The incident in question was when Filipowski was a speaker at a Hudson County Municipal Clerks Association meeting in North Bergen last month, as HCV first reported.
Sacco has backed Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop for governor, while Stack has thrown his support behind U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-5), who has not declared yet, in part reigniting the bad blood between the North Hudson power brokers as a full fledged civil war continues to escalate.
Fulop, who has also denied having any involvement with Filipowski, has committed to challenging Stack’s preferred candidates in the 33rd Legislative District Assembly races next year.
For the moment, that matchup appears to be a tag team affair that pits Sacco antagonist Larry Wainstein and Assemblyman Gabriel Rodriguez, Team Stack, against Assemblyman Julio Marenco and progressive activist Hector Oseguera, Team Fulop.
The Democratic primary is set for June 3rd, 2025.