Road rage leads to GOP chair's arrest on serious charges and resignation calls: reports

Sussex County, New Jersey Republican Chairman Joseph LaBarbera was arrested Saturday facing multiple gun-related charges, according to local reports, prompting swift calls from fellow GOP officials for him to step down.

The New Jersey Globe and Patch.com reported that LaBarbera faces charges including possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, endangering a child by a non-caretaker, aggravated assault with a firearm, and unjustified display of a firearm by a permit holder.

The confrontation reportedly grew out of a dispute between drivers on the road. Police took LaBarbera into custody early Saturday afternoon, arresting him at a nearby restaurant not long after the alleged incident occurred.

LaBarbera, a Marine combat veteran, has chaired the Sussex County GOP since 2023.

Several prominent Republican officials, including state Sen. Parker Space, Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia and Assemblyman Michael Inganamort, issued a joint statement calling on LaBarbera to step aside from his party leadership role while he deals with the charges.

The arrest has not yet been addressed by LaBarbera himself, and further details about the charges and their connection to the alleged road rage incident remain under investigation.

It's the latest episode in a year for the New Jersey GOP that includes other embarrassing arrests. John Alite, a GOP town councilman in Englishtown with a long rap sheet in organized crime with the infamous Gotti family, was arrested for loan sharking in June.