An Atlantic City councilwoman says she is filing criminal charges after a member of the city's anti-violence unit threatened to attack her husband.
"Keep talking shit, I'm gonna f*** your husband up," Craig Newsome says, as he leans out the passenger side of a vehicle on Election Day.
Councilwoman LaToya Dunston, who is running for re-election in the Second Ward, captured the scene on video.
"Go back to work," she tells Newsome as the recording begins.
He responds that he is off and has two jobs.
Sources told BreakingAC the argument stemmed from campaign signs.
Dunston has been among a group of City Council members that include Councilmen George Tibbitt and Bruce Weekes who have vocally opposed Mayor Marty Small. Small backed Dunston's opponent, Viana "Vivi" Bailey.
Last month, Dunston sponsored a resolution asking the state to investigate claims that city employees have been campaigning while on city time, using government resources.
"This behavior is in violation of the Hatch Act and undermines the integrity of our government and its institutions," Resolution 399 reads.
The vote passed 5-4, with Councilman MD Hossain Morshed joining Dunston, Tibbitt and Weekes, and Republican Jesse Kurtz.
Newsome told BreakingAC that Dunston accused him and others of campaigning on city time.
"We were putting lawn signs up," he said. "She pulls up telling us they have us on video campaigning on city time, (which) was clearly a lie. Then she kept accusing us of doing illegal activity during this campaign."
In the video, Dunston tells him to get back to work.
He responds that he is off the clock as he sat in the passenger seat with an unidentified driver.
That is what got him frustrated, he said.
"Get that on tape," Newsome yells, leaning out of the window before again saying, "Keep talking shit, I'm gonna f*** your husband up."
He then repeats the line three more times.
"Is that a threat?" Dunston asks at one point.
"No it ain't no threat, it's a promise," he says before slowly repeating the line one more time.
"It was an election," Newsome said Wednesday. "Both sides were heated, tempers flared. I don’t have any problems with nobody. I want what’s best for the city."
Newsome was one of several members of the anti-violence unit who sat down with BreakingAC and the mayor for an interview in November.
At the time, he said he wanted to focus on the jobs program they had for the city's youth.
"They come here, they do their research on us, and then they come see us come to work," Newsome said. "So it just gives them an example because they might not have an example at home. Most of them got no fathers."
One Neighborhood Evolution was formed in November 2020, as a response to the street violence.
It takes those with criminal pasts in the city's streets, and has them be an example of the change someone can make in their lives.
Small has admitted it can have its set backs.
Small terminated Allen immediately.
In this case, Small has offered little comment.
"All I'm going to say is that it's been handled internally," he said.
Atlantic County Prosecutor William Reynolds said Dunston had not yet contacted his office.
Dunston told BreakingAC she would be filing something with the Prosecutor's Office since another complaint she made with Atlantic City police was not handled.
