“The Newark Police Department was not involved in joint operations with the New York Police Department as was described in the disclosed NYPD report. What we are discovering appears to be an NYPD operation in our city that involved the blanket surveillance of Newark residents and workers based solely on the religion of those individuals. If this is in fact what happened, it is deeply disturbing to me and strikes against my fundamental beliefs as an American. If this is indeed what transpired, it is, I believe, a clear infringement on the core liberties of our citizenry. I strongly believe that we must be vigilant in protecting our citizens from crime and terrorism but to put large segments of a religious community under surveillance with no legitimate cause or provocation clearly crosses a line. My administration will call on the Attorney General's Office to investigate so that we can better understand what actually happened and why, as well as to ensure that our residents are protected from future infringements on civil liberties by law enforcement personnel from any jurisdiction.” - Cory Booker - Mayor of Newark, New Jersey
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