The New Jersey State Police Counter-Terrorism Bureau decked out in bulletproof vests and armed with assault rifles descended on a home in Jersey the other day without a search warrant and ransacked the home of some local residents of Exxex County.
You probably didn’t hear about it.
Ted Nebus was the lucky guy whose apartment was torn asunder, and whose computer, containing his master's thesis on labor relations, was carted off. The counter terror guys also seized several signs advocating animal rights.
According to the Home News Tribune, police said the raid was linked to an investigation into, get this, criminal mischief and trespassing.
It turns out that Nebus’ wife, Janice Angelillo, was already in custody. She had been picked up by the NJ State Police for allegedly spray-painting (terrorism?). Her bail has been set at $15,000 cash.
Janice is the treasurer of the Central New Jersey Industrial Workers of the World and an avid animal rights activist.
Nebus’ neighbor, Tom Howard, was puzzled by the action Saturday night. "It's like if you saw one of those hyped-up movies, except you replace the Hollywood stereotype of the evil terrorist with the people who actually live there," Howard said. "And it's a woman who is a school teacher, who's an art teacher at a school who weighs 100 pounds soaking wet, and her husband, who is a grad student studying labor relations."
"They're pacifists," Howard said. "They protest for peace." He said he was not particularly aware of the couple's animal-rights activities, but said Angelillo is "very interested in treating animals humanely." He added, "The couple adopted five stray cats...one of them, Acadia, has been missing since the incident."
The search warrant, signed several hours after Nebus and several others were detained, covered computer-related material and paper towels, Howard said, adding that the police said Angelillo had allegedly spray-painted.
"For allegedly spray-painting, they sent a SWAT team," Howard said.
Dan O'Donnell, the building's owner said he has seen people with protest signs entering and leaving the house, but there's never been any trouble with the residents.
Capt. Steve Serrao of the counter-terrorism bureau said at the scene that police were unable to release details of the investigation. The Highland Park, New Jersey Police Department assisted the state police in the operation. A K-9 unit also was on the scene.
Next door neighbor Howard said he understands the need to respond to threats, but said he believes the reaction he saw to an investigation of criminal mischief and trespassing seemed overdone.
"It was one of those things where you will look at things and you'll read about things going on, and then one day, you're going to a barbecue and the next thing you know, you've got an assault rifle pointed at you," he said. Sources: Rise Up, Home News Tribune (New Jersey), and a couple of e-mails
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