As Phil Murphy prepared to turn over the reins of New Jersey state government to his successor on Tuesday, the outgoing governor pardoned Moshe Glick, who faced charges for his role in an altercation at an Orthodox synagogue in 2024.
Glick was one of 148 people granted clemency on Murphy’s final day in office before Mikie Sherrill, a former congresswoman, took the oath of office as New Jersey’s 57th governor.
“I am profoundly grateful and relieved to share that the baseless charges brought against me by rogue prosecutors in Essex County have been dropped in my favor,” Glick said in a statement, which Yeshiva World News published.
“What began as an act of defending a fellow Jew from violent assault outside our synagogue has ended with the truth prevailing,” he added in the statement.
Glick was indicted after a violent confrontation outside Congregation Ohr Torah in West Orange with anti-Israel protesters. Inside the building was a real estate fair offering property for sale in Israel, a memorial service for a rabbi and a Torah sermon.
The November 2024 incident came more than a year after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel.
In September, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil complaint under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act against those protesting the synagogue.
The complaint described a mob ignoring police warnings to stay away from the synagogue and descending onto the building’s grounds, blowing vuvuzelas to disrupt the proceedings and then confronting organizers of the event.
“No American should be harassed, targeted or discriminated against for peacefully practicing their religion,” Pamela Bondi, the U.S. attorney general, stated at the time. “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.”
