Senator Cory Booker and the United States' leading counter-terrorism official engaged in a heated exchange over remarks made by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who referenced the Muslim community in Paterson, New Jersey, during her speech at AmericaFest earlier this week.
Booker, a Democrat representing New Jersey, expressed his disapproval of Gabbard's comments at the Phoenix event, where she highlighted threats to the U.S. homeland stemming from Islamist ideology. According to Fox News, Booker criticized Gabbard for mentioning Paterson, New Jersey's third-largest city, which is known for its diverse Arab Christian and Muslim population.
The city, named after Irish immigrant and Constitution signatory William Paterson, is situated between New York City and the Delaware Water Gap.
"Paterson is one of New Jerseys oldest cities and has always embodied the best American values industry, perseverance, and diversity," Booker tweeted on Tuesday. He accused Gabbard of attempting to incite fear and division, stating, "Tulsi Gabbard's dangerous attempt to sow fear, pit people against each other, and smear the Muslim Americans of Paterson, NJ is dishonest, cruel, and un-American it endangers an entire community."
Paterson reportedly has the second-highest percentage of Muslims in the United States, following the Muslim-majority city of Hamtramck, Michigan. The city has a sister city relationship with Ramallah in the Palestinian West Bank, as reported by WKXW. Booker emphasized the importance of diversity in New Jersey, stating, "In Jersey, we know our state's diversity is our strength, and we stand up for our own."
During her address, Gabbard warned that Islamist ideology fuels terrorist groups that must be defeated "militarily" and poses a "direct threat to freedom" due to its political nature. She argued that this ideology seeks to "create a global caliphate that governs us here in America" and enforces Sharia Law governance. Gabbard cautioned that those who do not comply with this ideology face violence rather than mere censorship, noting that some German cities have canceled Christmas festivals due to the threat of radical Islamists, and warning that similar threats may be emerging in the United States.
Gabbard pointed to cities like Dearborn, Michigan, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Islamist clerics are allegedly promoting this ideology and attempting to recruit and radicalize young people. She claimed that advocacy-group-backed efforts to implement Sharia law are already underway in Houston, Texas, and Paterson, New Jersey. "Paterson is proud to call themselves the first Muslim city. They are working to implement in their own governments these Islamic principles that are forced on people through the use of laws or violence," she stated.
"The bottom line is this. When we talk about the threat of Islamism, this political ideology, there is no such thing as individual freedom or liberty. As Charlie [Kirk] said over and over again, it is fundamentally incompatible with our nation's foundation of freedom," Gabbard added.
Paterson, which has faced challenges with crime and corruption, including the indictment of Councilman Michael Jackson and others on election fraud charges, collectively rejected Gabbard's assertion that its Muslim community posed any threat.
Mayor Andre Sayegh, a Democrat, criticized Gabbard as "egregiously misinformed" during a press conference held to counter the former Hawaii congresswoman's claims. "Were a better city because Muslims call Paterson home. Its a point of pride that they contribute to the social and economic fabric of Paterson," he said. In 2020,
Paterson's city council approved an ordinance allowing the Adhan, or Muslim call to worship, to be broadcast in the city. Imam Quddoos Farrad compared it to Christians using church bells or Jews using a Shofar.
Meanwhile, National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent, a Republican from Washington state nominated by President Donald Trump, staunchly defended Gabbard and criticized Booker. "The insane policies championed by Booker and the Democrat Party under the Biden administration have allowed a staggering 18,000 known and suspected terrorists to enter our nation, many through the botched Afghanistan withdrawal and the open southern border," Kent stated.
"This disastrous approach has put American lives at risk, prioritizing unchecked borders over national security," he continued. Kent highlighted recent successful attacks by Muslim jihadis in New Orleans, Colorado, and Washington D.C., which have spread terror across the nation, while law enforcement has thwarted over a dozen more jihadist plots.
He credited Gabbard with exposing threats from 2,000 Afghan evacuees under Bidens Operation Allies Welcome who had ties to terrorism, asserting that the DNI is "confronting the dangers recklessly inflicted on our nation by cowards like Booker and Biden."
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