Day: April 9, 2017

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

The Justice Department should put a stop to this. But it’s anybody’s
guess which side the Trump Justice Department is on at this point.

“Outrageous Unconstitutional Intimidation of Private Citizens Who Opposed Mosque Project; Thomas More Law Center Steps In,” Thomas More Law Center, March 28, 2017:

ANN ARBOR, MI – If you speak out against building a
mosque in your community, you may be slapped with a subpoena demanding
all your personal documents, including emails, voicemails, text
messages, and social media posts concerning Muslims, Islam, mosques, the
Quran, Muslim worship or prayer services, wudu, imams, burkas, hijabs,
Sharia, jihad, or anything else associated with or related to Muslims or
Islam.

This was part of the harassment and intimidation experienced by
scores of private citizens of the small New Jersey town, Bernards
Township (also known as Basking Ridge), who spoke out at public hearings
against a plan to build a disproportionately-sized mosque on a small
piece of residential property. The mosque project, sponsored by the
Islamic Society of Basking Ridge (“ISBR”) and its president, Mohammad
Ali Chaudry, was denied by Township officials for not complying with
local building ordinances.

On March 10, 2016, ISBR and Mohammad Ali Chaudry sued Bernards
Township in federal court, claiming various violations of the Religious
Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Shortly after, ISBR had
coercive subpoenas served on private citizens whose only involvement was
voicing concerns at public planning board meetings about whether the
proposed mosque complied with local building ordinances.

The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
recently granted the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest
law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, permission to represent, without
charge, several of these citizens who desired to quash the coercive and
abusive subpoenas. Westfield, New Jersey attorney Michael P. Hrycak is
assisting the Law Center.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law
Center, commented: “ISBR is setting a dangerous unconstitutional
precedent by abusing a court process to chill and trample on the First
Amendment Rights of private citizens whose only involvement was to speak
out against the mosque at public hearings. Because the U.S. Supreme
Court has held that speech at a public place on a matter of public
concern is entitled to special protection, we will ask the Federal
District Court to quash the subpoenas served on our clients as a misuse
and abuse of the Court’s process.”

Lori Caratzola, described in the ISBR Complaint as a fervent and
frequent objector to the mosque, was a prime target for ISBR’s personal
attacks. She was personally mentioned over a dozen times in their
Complaint. Yet she has remained steadfast in her opposition. Ms.
Caratzola commented:

“Being served with a Federal Court Subpoena to turn over all my
personal communications including voicemails, social media, emails,
notes wherein I make any mention of anything having to do with Islam is
an absolute violation of my First Amendment rights. I was a citizen
exercising my right to attend public planning board meetings about a
land use application that affected my community.”

She continued:

“Dr. Chaudry’s clear intent was to embarrass, strike fear, silence
and cause financial harm to any citizen who dared oppose his
nonconforming project. And if these subpoenas are allowed to stand, it
will set a chilling precedent for all citizens who wish to exercise
their Constitutionally protected right to free speech and to petition
their government.

“I was named numerous times in the Complaint, yet as a non-party, I
had no standing to challenge the lies and half-truths told about me.
After the Complaint was filed, mainstream media picked up and repeated
these lies and half-truths.”

Caratzola concluded:

“I have lost days, probably weeks, devoting time to trying to find
counsel – only to find most attorneys are afraid of challenging an
Islamic group in today’s political climate.”…

Cody Smith, another subpoenaed resident who opposed the Mosque, stated:

“The planning board did exactly what it should have done—set emotions
aside and judge ISBR’s application solely on its merits and whether it
complied with our local regulations. It’s unfortunate that Dr. Chaudry,
the Township’s former mayor, has resorted to an all-out smear campaign
and retaliation against residents who exercised their fundamental
Constitutional rights of Free Speech in a public forum.”

Soon after ISBR’s lawsuit, DOJ investigators opened another coercive
front by attempting to interview the private citizens who opposed the
mosque. Eight months later, the DOJ filed its own lawsuit against the
Township.

Astonishingly, the DOJ was dismissive of an apparent conflict of
interest between Mohammad Ali Chaudry and the DOJ’s chief investigator,
Caroline Sadlowski, both of whom were serving together on the Center for
Religious and Cultural Conflicts board at Drew University.