CRANFORD — A Cranford man known for his performative public protests was arrested Tuesday night following an altercation with police that took place during a regular meeting of the Township Committee.
William Thilly, a three-time candidate for the commissioner board, approached the podium during the public comment section of the meeting with a sign that read “Refuse Govt. Abuse” before launching into a song and then criticizing what he called “carte blanche” leadership among elected officials.
Thilly then began to play music through a speaker in opposition to recent policy changes that ban amplifiers and noisemakers from public meetings. Police approached Thilly following three separate warnings from Mayor Kathleen Miller Prunty, who repeatedly asked him to turn off the music and return to his seat.
The Committee, as it has done multiple times over the course of the past year in response to Thilly’s behavior, quickly adjourned to an emergency recess and stepped down from the dais.
“During the unlawful disruption of the meeting, as law enforcement attempted to guide Mr. Thilly from the meeting room, he physically disrupted an officer by deliberately falling to the ground,” Police Chief Matthew Nazzaro said via public message on Wednesday, “This action resulted in the officer sustaining an injury to his knee, which required medical evaluation at an area hospital. Mr. Thilly was subsequently arrested and removed from the meeting.”
Thilly was provided with medical attention while in police custody, Nazzaro said, and was eventually taken from the municipal building via ambulance for further evaluation at the Overlook Medical Center in Summit.
Thilly, who told The Leader that he likely fainted while in custody due to the stress of “being handcuffed in a 5×5 cell,” was charged with disrupting a public meeting, third-degree aggravated assault on a police officer, obstructing the administration of law and resisting arrest. He was later released on his own recognizance pending an appearance in Superior Court.
Other individuals at the meeting who exhibited similar behavior (including one man who sang a profane rap about “being sucked on by a lot of people” while dressed as a giant marijuana pipe) were not ejected from the proceedings.
Mr. Thilly claims that neither his wife, Diana Sen, nor his attorney, Anders Wenstrand-Nausthaug, were allowed to speak with him while he was detained.
“This is yet another example of Cranford officials selectively targeting Mr. Thilly and treating him as though the Constitution does not apply to him,” Wenstrand-Nausthaug said, adding that he and Thilly, who is currently suing the Township for allegedly infringing upon his rights as an American citizen, plan to “consider all available legal options.”
Repeated disruptions by Thilly and others, Mayor Kathleen Miller Prunty said, have led to complications for elected officials and other Cranford residents.
“I am concerned that the behavior of a few has escalated to the point where residents do not feel safe at meetings and that their concerns and ideas are being drowned out by the antics,” she said, “Everyone has the right to speak – no one has been denied that opportunity – but being disruptive, combative and infringing on others’ right to speak or listen will not be tolerated.”
