JUDGE ORDERS GUNS RETURNED —NEW JERSEY MAN WHO POSTED NEGATIVE ONLINE REVIEW OF DOC WAS RED-FLAGGED!

By Theresa Inacker for Black Wire Media.

Middletown, New Jersey May 30, 2020 A New Jersey judge has ordered the return of Firearms seized under a red flag order. The Judge, Paul X. Escandon, found that Alfred Conti of Middletown never did threaten a doctor with whom he had a dispute, and that Conti’s guns never should have been taken.

In an abuse of the red flag law, on September 25, 2019, Conti’s firearms were seized from his home.

It all started when Mr. Conti had nerve decompression surgery performed by Dr. Matthew Kaufman. Dissatisfied with the results of the surgery, Mr. Conti posted negative online reviews which angered Dr. Kaufman. When Conti refused to take down the online reviews, Dr. Kaufman’s attorney, James Maggs, contacted the Rumson Police Department claiming they feared Conti and that he threatened them. The guns were then taken from Conti by the Police Department at 1 am. The doctor also filed a defamation suit against Mr. Conti.

In a decision dated May 20, 2020, Judge Escandon found that the state did not even meet a preponderance of the evidence standard, which is merely more than 50%. The judge also found that while Mr. Conti may have used expletives, no threat was made. The judge found that no threat of bodily harm was made, and there was no evidence to support that Mr. Conti is mentally ill, or a threat to himself or anyone else.

The judge also noted that Conti is a retiree with no criminal record. He is a certified RSO, and certified NRA instructor.

Since the proposal of the red flag law, Second Amendment advocates have warned that it would be used in an abusive way by individual parties, or the state, against gun owners merely for harassment purposes. Second Amendment advocates warned that the notorious Red Flag law would be abused and this case is a prime example.

The abuse of red flag laws is a form of what is known as a SLAPP lawsuit- Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation- it is a lawsuit designed to silence critics. It is typically filed by a corporation, the wealthy or someone in power against the little guy. The plaintiff does not normally expect to win the case, but it is in the harassment and cost they find victory. That is exactly what appears to have happened in this case.

Link for Conti’s Go Fund Me for legal fees: https://www.gofundme.com/f/20rs0ehno0…