President Donald Trump holds a press conference with Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room on Friday, June 27, 2025. / Credit: Official White House Photo by Abe McNatt/The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 3, 2025 / 17:53 pm (CNA).
President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against individuals and entities that staged a protest outside of a New Jersey synagogue, which officials say descended into violence.
The DOJ named two organizations involved in the protest — Party for Socialism and Liberation New Jersey and American Muslims for Palestine New Jersey — as well as six individuals who allegedly participated in the protest as defendants in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was brought under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which imposes federal penalties on people who restrict access to places of worship. The DOJ alleges protesters used threats, intimidation, and violence while protesting the Congregation Ohr Torah synagogue, which interfered with the community’s right to exercise its religion.
“No American should be harassed, targeted, or discriminated against for peacefully practicing their religion,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement on Sept. 29.
“Today’s lawsuit underscores this Department of Justice’s commitment to defending Jewish Americans — and all Americans of faith — from those who would threaten their right to worship,” she added.
The DOJ allegations contrast with the assertions of local prosecutors who allege that pro-Israel counterprotesters initiated the violence.
Protest background and lawsuit
The DOJ lawsuit notes the planned protest coincided with the synagogue’s religious memorial service for the late Rabbi Avi Goldberg. It notes the event included a Torah sermon, religious songs, prayerful dancing, a festive barbecue, and a real estate fair, all of which were “part of the religious observance.”
Protesters rallied outside the event primarily in opposition to the real estate fair, which included the sale of land in the Palestinian West Bank that was obtained through settlements authorized by the Israeli government. The United Nations’ International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion last year that declared those settlements illegal under international law.
The DOJ lawsuit alleges that protesters defied police orders and entered synagogue property “shouting and blowing vuvuzelas.” It alleges they “disrupted the religious event by blowing vuvuzelas to drown out the memorial service and Torah sermon.”
It alleges two protesters blew vuvuzelas in the face of an event organizer, which the organizer swatted away. One protester allegedly charged toward the event organizer in response, which led a second worshipper to pepper-spray the protester to halt the alleged attack.
According to the allegations, that protester attacked the person who pepper-sprayed him by throwing the man to the ground, dragging him to the parking lot, and slamming his head onto the ground.
As the assault allegedly continued, the worshipper eventually hit the protester in the head with a flashlight and escaped to safety, according to the lawsuit.
“This Justice Department will vigorously enforce the right of every American to worship in peace and without fear,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a statement. “Those who target houses of worship and violate our federal laws protecting people of faith are on notice that they will face the consequences.”
The DOJ’s interpretation of the events conflicts significantly with that of the local prosecutors.
According to an article from the North Jersey Media Group, Essex County prosecutors allege that “pro-Israel counterprotesters” launched the attack on the pro-Palestinian protesters. The prosecutors allege pro-Israel counterprotesters “stormed toward the pro-Palestinian protesters and began ripping away their materials.”
The event organizer and the other worshipper — whom the DOJ states were the victims — faced several charges in Essex County for their alleged roles in the conflict. They were charged with bias intimidation, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon, according to the article.
According to an article by the New Jersey Monitor, the event organizer maintains his innocence and his lawyer said the DOJ interpretation of events “recounts what occurred on that tragic day [and] we are gratified that finally the people who deserve to be brought to justice will be.”
Muslim Legal Fund of America, which is representing American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), said in a statement that the complaint “contains no allegations of violence on the part of any representative of AMP.”
“AMP continues to stand up for the rights of all to lawfully exercise peaceful First Amendment-protected free speech,” the statement added.
In addition to establishing special protections for houses of worship, the FACE Act also provides similar protections for abortion clinics and pro-life pregnancy resource centers.
