Booker calls for NJ councilwoman’s resignation after homophobic rant against mayor

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A New Jersey councilwoman has sparked public outrage after she went on an expletive-laced, homophobic tirade during a coronavirus conference call over the weekend. Now, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker is leading the charge to get her removed from her seat on the Trenton City Council.

According to the NY Daily News, on Saturday during a virtual meeting meant to update legislators on the coronavirus situation in Trenton, New Jersey, controversial councilwoman Robin Vaughn unexpectedly became irate, first calling the mayor “a motherf**king drug addict pedophile” and then accusing another colleague of continuing to “suck (the mayor’s) d**k.”

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The Trentonian has since published the full audio of the nearly one-hour conference call which kicked off with Vaughn being asked by Mayor Reed Gusciora to elaborate on her criticism of so-called “do-nothing” nonprofits.

Councilwoman Robin Vaughn (Trenton City Council)

“You’re a child and you’re incompetent. And you know it,” Vaughn responded defensively. “That’s why you’re coming after me.”

Tempers soon flared with Gusciora calling Vaughn an “idiot,” which led to a heated back and forth laden with insults and increasingly colorful and profane language from the councilwoman.

At one point she made allegations that Gusciora, who is gay, was “running around with young boys” adding, “You need to get the f**k out of office and get the f**k out of Trenton.”

When councilman Joe Harrison chimed in and called her “ugly,” among other insults, she responded by calling him an “old dumbass” later advising him to “continue to suck Reed’s d**k.”  She called both men “b**ch-a**es,” and insulted Harrison’s mother multiple times.

“From her previous defense of anti-Semitic rhetoric in 2019, to her hateful words used against the LGBTQ community this weekend, Councilwoman Vaughn has shown a pattern of intolerance that has no place on the Trenton City Council,” Booker said.  “The sentiments she expressed are contrary to our values as New Jerseyans and as Americans.”

“The people of Trenton deserve better, which is why I am calling on Councilwoman Vaughn to step down immediately,” he concluded.

Previously, Vaughn drew backlash for defending a colleague’s use of an anti-Semitic slur. In response to this latest display of problematic behavior, at least one activist group has also called for her resignation, characterizing her as “unfit to serve.”

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“There’s no need to parse words here: for her hateful anti-LGBTQ language and defending the anti-Semitic slurs of others, she must resign,” said Christian Fuscarino, an executive director of LGBT advocacy group Garden State Equality.

https://twitter.com/SantiagoReports/status/1257006176342102016

Vaughn attempted to defend herself via her Twitter account, asking that The Trentonian release the “full tape,” and said that the mayor needed to stop talking to the press.

Mayor @gusciora stop talking to the newspapers and release the full tape and/or transcript. https://t.co/MqYzog1erO pic.twitter.com/D077V9z1v1

— Robin M Vaughn (@trentonwestward) May 3, 2020

The audio that The Trentonian released was 53 minutes long and continued through the time that Council president Kathy McBride takes control of the call. For a while, things calmed down until the argument, with Vaughn continuing her tirade, flared up again until she finally leaves the call at the 52-minute mark.

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