The New Jersey State Police are conducting an internal investigation into whose directives were being followed on Dec. 2, when Republican members of the state assembly were allowed to enter the statehouse chambers without supplying proof of a vaccine or a COVID-19 test, as has been mandated, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday.
While the Democrat governor wouldn't answer questions last week about the troopers' actions, on Monday he acknowledged there is an internal investigation, reports Politico's Playbook.
"When it is complete, we will make the findings public as appropriate," Murphy said during his press conference. "The public does deserve a right to hear [what happened]."
On Dec. 2, roughly a dozen Republican assembly members tried to enter the voting chamber without showing the required proof of vaccination or a test. Initially, the police blocked them, but then allowed them to enter the chamber.
Security around the statehouse to implement the vaccine-or-test requirement has been boosted, with troopers setting up checkpoints at entryways across the complex, but no answers have been given about why the troopers allowed assembly members to enter the chamber.
Murphy at the time called the Republican lawmakers' actions "unforgivable," and declined to answer questions about the incident.
"Who do the Troopers answer to if even the Attorney General — who leads the department they’re located in — wrongly assured legislative leaders the mandate would be enforced?" Politico's Matt Friedman writes. "What kind of guidance did the Statehouse Troopers get on Dec. 2? Was the confusion from the upper ranks on down? Were there conflicting orders? Or were individuals disobeying?"
Meanwhile, an appellate judge last Friday would not block the mandate from taking effect until the case is heard in April, leaving it as the Capitol's rules for another four months.
The Republicans' challenge was brought by two incoming Republican legislative leaders, assembly member John DiMaio and state Sen. Steven Oroho. The mandate was brought by a joint commission that manages the statehouse complex.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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