NEW JERSEY: Attorney General’s Office Blasts Hiring Of Extremist Walid Shoebat To Address Police Academy

The New Jersey Attorney General’s office will issue new guidelines to state police in the wake of outrage over a $6000 speaking fee paid to fake former Palestinian terrorist Walid Shoebat, who recently addressed a police academy. Shoebat and his son Ted Shoebat regularly call for the executions of homosexuals, atheists, and Christians who support LGBT rights. The Asbury Park Press reports:

“The private training program that took place in Ocean County last week clearly was not appropriate training and is not the type of training we want our police officers attending,” said Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for Acting Attorney General John Jay Hoffman. The guidelines will be sent to all 21 county prosecutors, who are the chief law enforcement official in each county.

On Nov. 2, Walid Shoebat, a Palestinian-American who bills himself as a former Muslim terrorist turned Christian, spoke to more than 60 law enforcement officers for three hours about his views on Islam. The in-service training session was arranged by a private police vendor at a cost of $109 per officer and sponsored through the Ocean County Police Academy, which is under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff’s Office.

Among those complaining this week is Garden State Equality:

“Shoebat spreads blatantly false information about LGBT people,” wrote Aaron Potenza, director of programs at Garden State Equality. “He has made hateful statements equating same-sex relationships with pedophilia, calling for a ‘ban on homosexuality’ and claiming that LGBT people are ‘vile’ and ‘the greatest threat to the Western World.’ He has stated that LGBT people are equivalent to the Nazis.”

“Many LGBT people fear going to law enforcement, as they assume that police will discriminate against them. Unfortunately hiring someone like Shoebat to conduct training reinforces that fear,” he wrote. “Garden State Equality recognizes that the vast majority of those in law enforcement are allies to the LGBT community and do not harbor prejudice. Garden State Equality also is aware that there are many LGBT individuals in law enforcement. That said, we believe that the officers you serve could benefit from an in-service training on LGBT issues and on how to work with the LGBT community.”

(Tipped by JMG reader Michael)