New Jersey GOP county chairman who pushed for 'eradicating' Islam charged with drunk driving

A New Jersey Republican official with a history of offensive social media posts has been arrested on drunk driving charges after crashing into a stopped car.

Jerry Scanlan, the longtime chairman of the Sussex County Republican Committee and former vice chair of Sussex County Community College, rear-ended a car paused at a stoplight last week, and police officers said he appeared to be intoxicated and admitted to drinking beforehand, reported the New Jersey Herald.

Lt. John Lamon declined to state Scanlan's blood-alcohol concentration reading but said it was "close to being double" of the state's legal limit of 0.8 percent.

The 55-year-old Scanlan was charged with driving while intoxicated, careless driving and reckless driving in the crash, which police said did not result in any injuries.

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He had previously attended the county GOP's annual Lincoln Day Brunch fundraiser at the Lake Mohawk Golf Club, where he was joined by state Sen. Steven Oroho and former assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, who is seen as the GOP frontrunner for the 2025 gubernatorial campaign after his strong challenge two years ago to Gov. Phil Murphy.

Scanlan came under fire in 2019 after posting anti-Muslim memes and content attacking four Democratic congresswomen of color on the county party's official Twitter account, including a call to "eradicate Islam from every town, city, county and state in our homeland."

He later apologized, and community college trustees agreed to censure him and demote him from an officer position, but he kept the county GOP chairman post he has held since 2015.