FLEMINGTON, N.J. – Hunterdon GOP Chairman Gabe Plumer offered a full-throated defense of his party’s county director on Tuesday night among mounting Democrat attacks over her presence at the January 6th Trump rally in Washington, D.C.
“Director [Susan] Soloway peacefully attended this rally and then peacefully left it. These are the facts,” said Plumber in a statement to the media. “Democrats have called on Director Soloway to resign because of this. I contemplated not releasing a statement in response to these calls. I strongly believe that we shouldn’t allow hypercritics to drive the agenda. There’s hard work being done by our county right now, ranging from implementing the county COVID vaccine program to continuing to build on the legacy of one of the finest farmland preservation programs in the state. This should be the focus.”
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However, Plumer said increasingly unhinged Hunterdon Democrat comments convinced him to speak out.
“Susan Soloway, by her own admission, was close enough to take videos of those unlawfully entering the U.S. Capital. Emphasis on multiple videos — she did not leave right away from her fear, but had time to take videos of the unlawful behavior,” Hunterdon Democrat Chairwoman Arlene Perez told The New Jersey Globe. “Her actions are undeniable wrong. On every level. And should be to everyone.”
Other Democrat posts reportedly went further; on January 11th, the county Democrats shared an unhinged Facebook post declaring, in part, that “[n]o one that supported the unfounded claims of voter fraud can pretend to be shocked. And no one that supported rallies and riots up to and including January 6th can escape the blame of the violence we saw on U.S. soil that ended in the death of a police officer.”
“[T]o suggest that a person who peacefully attended a rally, who left when it became violent, and who submitted video to the FBI, is somehow responsible for a police officer’s death is unconscionable and dangerous,” Plumer added. “I struggle to find adequate words to respond to this. For a party that talks so much about healing, this is as divisive and hateful as you can possibly get.”
A traditionally red county, Donald Trump carried Hunterdon by just 4.4-points in November.
Trump had defeated Hilly Clinton there by close to 14-points four years earlier.
Soloway and fellow Republican J. Matthew Holt are both up for reelection this year to defend the GOP’s 5-0 majority on the board.
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