WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is laser-focused on 2A civil rights infringements in New Jersey, according to communications that News2A has had directly with contacts at the DOJ.
According to those familiar with the investigation at the Second Amendment Section, they are looking to compile complaints of citizens experiencing permitting delays and those subjected to Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Orders (TERPOs), also known as red flag laws.
They are also seeking instances of cohabitant confiscations (citizens who had their guns seized based solely on who they lived with, not through any disqualification of their own).
The DOJ told News2A they are focusing their investigations in Bergen, Morris, Monmouth, Sussex, Ocean, and Camden counties, as well as in the cities of Passaic and Paterson.
The Second Amendment Section began turning its attention to violations in the state as a result of an aggrieved citizen who took matters into his own hands to reach out. That same individual, who wishes to remain anonymous, also built a portal for his fellow citizens to submit complaints to the DOJ.
That portal does not replace the DOJ’s own complaint portal, but it does supplement it, with information submitted going directly to trial attorneys within the Second Amendment Section, who told News2A that “information shared to his website is being categorized more specifically to our current investigations.”
News2A has vetted this portal and the individual behind it. For those who are reluctant to share personal information, the DOJ is acting upon submissions as simple as a name and phone number.
Though the DOJ announced investigations of permitting abuses in New Jersey in October, they have intensified their search, largely built on the feedback of citizens willing to share their particular permit denial or delay stories.
When News2A spoke with DOJ officials after announcing similar investigations into Connecticut towns in late October, they told us, “We are currently considering several possible lawsuits or investigations.”
News2A has tracked and reported on permit violations in a dedicated installment we call The Infringement Report.
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