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2C:16-1. Bias Intimidation.

a.Bias Intimidation. A person is guilty of the crime of bias intimidation if he commits, attempts to commit, conspires with another to commit, or threatens the immediate commission of an offense specified in chapters 11 through 18 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes; N.J.S.2C:33-4; N.J.S.2C:39-3; N.J.S.2C:39-4 or N.J.S.2C:39-5,

(1)with a purpose to intimidate an individual or group of individuals because of race, color, religion, gender, handicap, sexual orientation, or ethnicity; or

(2)knowing that the conduct constituting the offense would cause an individual or group of individuals to be intimidated because of race, color, religion, gender, handicap, sexual orientation, or ethnicity; or

(3)under circumstances that caused any victim of the underlying offense to be intimidated and the victim, considering the manner in which the offense was committed, reasonably believed either that (a) the offense was committed with a purpose to intimidate the victim or any person or entity in whose welfare the victim is interested because of race, color, religion, gender, handicap, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, or (b) the victim or the victim's property was selected to be the target of the offense because of the victim's race, color, religion, gender, handicap, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.

I read the article and decided to take a look at this "flawed" law-took less than a minute. I couldn't believe that there would be languge exempting same race or whatever other protected class offenses and there isn't. It doesn't appear Fajardo even looked at the law before allowing himself to go on the record.

Regardless of how one feels about hate speech, this law is not flawed in the way Fajardo claims, but it is very very hard to prove in cases of same race offenses.

Additionally, the law requires that there be the commission of an underlying offense enumerated in the statute, which does not appear to be the case here. That is probably why the police did not even bother charging him even though he wrote these cards back in November. Clearly Fajardo seems eager to make a crimnal racial issue out this where termination is the appropriate course of action.