Four young men had been harassing the 24-year-old before one threw the bottle as the group exited the bus

NEWARK -- A woman injured by a bottle tossed at her by another passenger aboard a New Jersey Transit bus nearly four years ago has been awarded $1.8 million by a jury, according to a report.

Anasia Maison, now 24, had to get 22 stitches after one of four youths harassing her on the bus in Newark threw a bottle in her direction as the quartet left the bus, NJLawJournal.com reported.

Lawsuits costing NJ taxpayers the most in 2016

Maison, a New York resident, says the injury she suffered on July 22, 2013 left her with a permanent scar. 

Her suit against NJ Transit alleged the driver was negligent by not stopping and either kicking the young men off or calling police. None were ever identified or charged. 

A jury sitting in Essex County found NJ Transit 100 percent liable when they reached the verdict June 14, the report said. 

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Kerry James Rivera, 50, was a member of the Paterson Fire Department.

WAYNE - When Rena Mason Rivera found out her husband of nearly 25 years, Kerry, had been in a mountain biking accident on Monday, she hoped the injuries weren't too severe.

"I thought he broke a leg, broke his shoulder or his arm," she said. Rena called Kerry's brother Michael, who broke the devastating news.

"His brother told me Kerry was gone," she said. "I couldn't believe it. It's still unbelievable."

Kerry James Rivera, a 13-year member of the Paterson Fire Department, died Monday after the mountain bike he was riding plunged 20 feet off a cliff in a wooded reservation near the Cedar Grove Reservoir, officials said.

Rivera, 50, had taken up bike riding a couple of months ago and was with his brother when the accident occurred about 9 a.m., Rena said.

On Monday night, friends and family gathered at the Rivera home in Wayne.

"We are all devastated by losing Kerry," said Jeralyn Lawrence, a family friend. "He was an outgoing, incredibly funny, always smiling family man."

Kerry and Rena met each other when she was 16 and a student at Wayne Hills High School. Kerry, who graduated from Passaic High School, met Rena through family members. They married on Nov. 20, 1992.

Rena said her husband lived for his work with the Paterson Fire Department.

"It was his home away from home," she said. "There was definitely a brothership there and he loved helping people. He loved everything about it."

Rena said her husband's enthusiasm for his children, his work and for sports, especially football, was infectious and inspired others. They have three children - Elijah, 23, Ezra, 19, Eden, 13.

"He was a great guy," Rena said, fighting back tears. "Everybody loved him. To know him was to love him."

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

NJ Advance Media selects the Top 100 boys and girls athletes of the 2016-17 school year.

Shots fired on city street Monday night, authorities say.

NEWARK -- A convicted felon was arrested after Essex County Sheriff's detectives heard gunshots and saw a man carrying a handgun Monday in the area they believed the shots were fired, officials said.

Jakill Young, 26 of Newark (Photo: Essex County jail) 

Narcotics detectives were on patrol on 14th Avenue in the city's West Ward when they heard three shots and found numerous people running from the area near 14th Street, according to Sheriff Armando Fontoura.

"As the neighbors ran from the scene many of them were shouting 'he just shot the gun and there are kids everywhere," Fontoura said in a statement.

Detectives spotted Jakill Young, 26, brandishing a silver handgun on 14th Avenue and ordered him to drop the weapon, but he ignored the officers and ran away through a backyard, according to the sheriff. Young tossed a loaded .38 caliber, Smith & Wesson revolver and a backpack during the chase before he was arrested.

Authorities said the revolver held three discharged shell casings and the bag contained hollow-point ammunition. Young was charged with various weapons-related offenses and resisting arrest.

Young previously pleaded guilty to drug-related charges, according to state records. He has a history of arrests in Essex County for drug and weapons offenses.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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East Orange is now considered one of the most livable cities in the country.

EAST ORANGE -- It may be small in size, but East Orange is now considered one of the most livable cities in the country.

Mayor Lester E. Taylor the III received a "City Livability Award" from the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) at its 85th annual meeting in Miami Beach, Florida on Saturday, in which former mayors selected winners from a pool of more than 150 applicants. It was one of five cities with less than 100,000 residents honored. 

With a little over 64,000 residents and 3.9 square miles of land, what put East Orange on the map was its latest campaign to stop illegal dumping.

The "Don't Dump on EO" program began when Taylor first took office in 2014 and assembled a Quality of Life Task Force and Division of Vacant and Abandoned Properties for a holistic approach to tackling urban clean-up in lots, schools and highways.

A "Neighborhood Clean Up Initiative" composed of local residents spent months in 2015 cleaning out abandoned homes in an effort to spur redevelopment.

"In East Orange, we always say a clean city is a safe city, and a clean and safe city is a profitable city," Taylor said in a statement. 

Clean-up endeavors have also included educational initiatives for students. 

Each year, elementary schools take part in a city-wide poster contest and summer youth program students create an informative, anti-dumping video. 

"I am extremely proud of how much we have been able to accomplish in three years," Taylor said. "East Orange is continuing to achieve our vision to set the standard for urban excellence and become a destination city."

Still, the city's efforts may not be impacting crime, as it had one of the highest crime rates in the state, according to N.J. State Police statistics.

Avalon Zoppo may be reached at azoppo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AvalonZoppo. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

Kareem Mitchell drove Todd West around the night he gunned down 3 random victims and tried to kill 2 others.

The getaway driver in a Lehigh Valley killing spree took a plea deal Tuesday on the day he was set to go to trial.

Kareem Mitchell drove the Mercedes SUV two years ago as Todd West murdered three people at random and tried to kill two others.

The 25-year-old Mitchell, who has no prior criminal record, previously said he did not know West before that night.

Was alleged getaway driver in Lehigh Valley killing spree willing or forced?

On Tuesday, Mitchell pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit third-degree murder. Under the deal, his sentence will be 7 years and six months to 15 years in state prison.

West, of Elizabeth, N.J., was charged with seven killings in all -- the three in the Lehigh Valley and four before that in New Jersey. West admitted to randomly gunning down Kory Ketrow in Easton, and Francine E. Ramos and Trevor D. Gray in Allentown.

In exchange for West's guilty plea to three counts of first-degree murder in the Pennsylvania killings, prosecutors dropped the death penalty. West was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the chance of parole.

Robert Jourdain, of Easton, admitted to buying the ammunition West used, and was sentenced to 12 to 40 years in state prison for conspiracy to commit third-degree murder.

Mitchell, of Newark, N.J., previously told investigators that the night of July 4, 2015, he was giving Jourdain a ride with his 2-year-old son to Easton, and West, whom he had never met before, came with them. Prosecutors said Jourdain and West knew each other.

After dropping off the child, the trio went to Allentown so West could get a haircut, then went to an after-hours club, according to police.

Jourdain bought a 50-count box of .38-caliber bullets about 2:30 a.m. July 5, 2015, at a Lower Nazareth Township Wal-Mart.

A half-hour after the ammunition was purchased, the three were riding in Easton when West spotted Ketrow. West told investigators Ketrow looked tired as he was walking along Lehigh Street, and that he was going to "help" Ketrow.

After killing Ketrow, West opened fire at a Palmer Township woman stopped at a traffic light at Third and Spring Garden streets in Easton. West shot the woman's car as she sped away, but the driver and passenger escaped uninjured.

By 4 a.m., Allentown police found Ramos and Gray gunned down at Sixth and Greenleaf streets.

West has said he chose the victims at random and that he killed the pair in Allentown because "I just wanted to kill them."

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen has been criticized for avoiding in-person events

MORRISTOWN -- U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen will take questions Tuesday, by telephone, as the fate of a bill repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act hangs in the balance on Capitol Hill.

Frelinghuysen, R-11th District, has been criticized for avoiding in-person events and for supporting, in May, the Republican-backed American Health Care Act that narrowly gained House approval.

He also is taking heat for adding a handwritten note to a letter in which he outed an activist opposing him to her employer.

Tuesday's telephone town hall will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Participants may sign up via Frelinghuysen's official House website or by calling either his district office in Morristown (973-984-0711) or his legislative office in Washington (202-225-5034).

Frelinghuysen's most recent telephone town hall, his fourth of 2017, was on May 9. 

Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook

Authorities identify two men slain Sunday night.

NEWARK -- Authorities on Tuesday identified the two Newark men killed in separate Sunday night shootings in the city's South Ward.

Police found 25-year-old Khalil Williams shot in a yard on Avon Avenue, near Peshine Avenue, according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. Williams was rushed to University Hospital, where he died. It's unclear what time he was shot.

There were no arrests and no suspects have been identified in the slaying, according to the prosecutor's office.

Shortly before 9 p.m., Rayshawn Ross and another man were shot on Edwin Place, near Willoughby Street, according to authorities. Ross, 39, died at the scene while the second victim was taken to University Hospital.

The second man remained hospitalized Tuesday in critical condition, according to prosecutor's office spokeswoman Katherine Carter.

Authorities investigating 2 separate homicides in Newark

"The investigation is extremely active," a statement from the prosecutor's office said. "So far, no arrests have been made."

Investigators believed the two killings were unrelated, the spokeswoman said. 

Records show Newark has logged 27 murders this year compared to more than 40 slayings in the same period last year.

The prosecutor's office was also investigating a third homicide Monday in a home on the 400 block of Avon Avenue, but released few details on that death. 

Authorities urged anyone with information about the murders to call the county prosecutor's tip line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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The victim died from an apparent gunshot wound Monday, according to officials.

NEWARK -- A man was charged with the murder of his relative, who was found dead at a Newark home Monday after concerned family members called police, officials said.

Erv-Wakine Pryor (Courtest of ECPO) 

City officers responded to the residence on the 400 block of Avon Avenue, where they discovered the body of Javon Johnson, 29, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said in a statement.

A relative, Erv-Wakine Pryor, 39, was taken into custody and later charged with murder and weapons offenses in Johnson's killing, the statement said.

Pryor was also accused of trying to dispose of Johnson's body, a prosecutor's office spokeswoman said. 

Investigators were awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine how Johnson died, but he had an apparent gunshot wound, according to spokeswoman Katherine Carter.

The exact family relationship between Johnson and Pryor was not immediately known. The two apparently lived together at the home on Avon Avenue.

Authorities said the investigation was ongoing and urged anyone with information to call the prosecutor's office tip line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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John Fricovsky admitted to owning computers with at least 10 images of child sex abuse on them.

NEWARK -- A 58-year-old man was sentenced to nearly 8 years in prison for distributing an image of child sex abuse over the Internet, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday. 

John Fricovsky, of Edison, pleaded guilty in March before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick said.

Prosecutors in February said Fricovsky admitted to owning computers with at least 10 images of child sex abuse and to sending an email with an image of a child under the age of 12 being sexually abused. He was sentenced Tuesday to 94 months in prison, officials said.

According to court documents, investigators seized a laptop and multiple phones and tablets from Fricovsky's home in December 2015. 

Judge Vazquez set the man's sentence on Tuesday in federal court in Newark. 

Avalon Zoppo may be reached at azoppo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AvalonZoppo. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

Shooting came in revenge for murder of gang member, according to federal authorities.

NEWARK -- A member of the Grape Street Crips street gang on Tuesday admitted in Newark federal court to a conspiracy to distribute drugs and shoot rival gang members in the city, the U.S Attorney's Office said.

Justin Carnegie, 30, pleaded guilty to five counts, including conspiracy to commit aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and separate conspiracies to distribute one kilogram of heroin and 280 grams or more of crack cocaine, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced in a news release.

Carnegie admitted he and others were involved in a shooting Oct. 7, 2013 in Newark that came in revenge for the murder of a fellow gang member by a rival gang, according to court statements and documents. Carnegie and his associates went to an area near Avon Avenue, where another gang member opened 14 shots at the targeted gang members.

Authorities said Carnegie and fellow members of the N.J. Grape Street Crips often turned to social media as a way to promote the gang's violent reputation and drug trafficking.

In one post, Carnegie stated "we be straight rat killing," in what authorities said was a reference to the gang's tactic of intimidating or killing witnesses who cooperate with law enforcement.

Carnegie and other gang members amassed a collection of weapons, according to information from prosecutors. He stashed a loaded Romarm SA Cugir 7.62x39 assault rifle as well as an American Industries Calico M100 .22LR carbine and ammunition for the guns in Orange.

Under a plea agreement, prosecutors said Carnegie is expected to be sentenced to 25 years in prison along with 10 years of supervised release.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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The lawsuit against Mayor Ras Baraka and his staff comes after Baraka announced his bid for re-election.

NEWARK -- A former city attorney has sued Mayor Ras Baraka and other high-ranking officials, including his brother who serves as chief of staff, claiming he was retaliated against for not signing off on a multi-million dollar development deal.

Willie Parker was the city's corporation counsel and responsible for reviewing contracts with the city from February 2015 until he said, he was fired in March of this year. 

In his lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court on June 23 -- a day after Baraka announced he was seeking re-election as mayor -- Parker said actions by Baraka and his staff "reveal an alarming picture of a Mayor and governmental entity run riot with retaliatory animus."

The lawsuit names Baraka; his brother and chief of staff Amiri Baraka Jr.; and two other administration officials. 

A Newark spokeswoman said the city does not comment on pending litigation. 

Parker said his firing stemmed from a development contract the city began negotiating in August 2016, according to the lawsuit. Parker refused to sign the contract due to a provision that would cause the city to lose money while benefitting private interests, the lawsuit states. 

The developer and project are not named in the suit. 

When Parker refused to sign, he said he got into a disagreement with Amiri "Middy" Baraka, who allegedly told him the deal needed to be pushed through for "political reasons," according to the lawsuit. Parker then informed Mayor Baraka of the incident. 

Middy Baraka allegedly confronted Parker outside his home "on why he had snitched" to the mayor, according to the lawsuit. In the weeks that followed Parker claims in the suit he was subjected to repercussions and even surveillance before suffering a heart attack last October that he attributed to high levels of stress. 

Parker's lawsuit claims the city broke state and federal guidelines over his leave time during his recovery and was discriminated against for his medical disability under the Family Medical Leave Act and the state's discrimination law. Parker said he was asked to resign and ultimately fired in March 2017. 

Parker is seeking compensatory damages, emotional distress damages and his job restoration with back pay.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

State and federal authorities also vowed that federal and state officials will work together to prosecute gun crimes aggressively.

TRENTON -- Authorities announced Tuesday they will aim to cut down on firearm violence in New Jersey by holding gun buybacks in three cities next month.

Acting U.S. Attorney William Fitzpatrick and state Attorney General Christopher Porrino also vowed that federal and state officials will work together to prosecute gun crimes aggressively, seeking to impose the most severe penalties against the most serious offenders. 

The buybacks will take place over two days -- July 28 and 29 -- at churches in Newark, Trenton, and Camden. The goal is to cover three sections of the state: the north, central, and south, Porrino said.

New Jersey residents can turn in up to three guns, no questions asked. They may receive as much as $200 for each weapon.

Authorities net 200 guns in buyback program

Authorities will collect the firearms and melt them down, Porrino said.

"Today is about making New Jersey a safer place," Porrino said at a news conference at the Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton.  "We want our communities to be a place where children can play on sidewalks and people can take a walk and not be worried about being caught in crossfire."

Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick and Porrino said state and federal officials will renew their focus on a program known as "Triggerlock," in which major gun offenders arrested by municipal and state authorities are referred to the U.S. Attorney's Office to be prosecuted under federal law, which carry longer prison terms. 

Porrino said the buybacks will not cost taxpayers anything. He said they will be paid for with forfeiture funds seized from criminals.

Gun violence has already been prevalent in New Jersey in the early days of summer. 

Four people were shot -- two of them to death -- in three separate shootings in Newark on Monday.

In Trenton, where a man was shot on Saturday, a woman was also killed and two men wounded last month.

And last month, Camden saw back-to-back gun homicides over a span of 48 hours, one involving a teenager.

A Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office firearm buyback in September yielded about 200 guns, the largest haul since the program began there in 2012.

Still, there has been criticism about how successful buybacks are in reducing violence. A 2015 investigation by The Trace, a non-profit journalism outlet funded by anti-gun violence non-profit Everytown for Gun Safety, found that most guns turned in to such buyback programs were damaged or inoperable, and therefore unlikely to be used to commit a crime.

In addition, academic studies have found that because of the sheer number of guns in America, the effect of gun buyback programs in decreasing violent crime and reducing firearm mortality is negligible if a buyback yields fewer than 1,000 guns.

But Porrino brushed aside those concerns Tuesday.

"How many lives will we save? I don't know," the attorney general said. "All I know is that when we're taking guns off the street and when we're taking the offenders off the street as well, that's going to have an impact."

The buybacks will take place simultaneously from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Greater Abyssinian Baptist Church in Newark, Friendship Baptist Church in Trenton, and Antioch Baptist Church in Camden. 

Residents will be paid $100 of turning in a rifle or shotgun, $120 for a handgun or revolver, and $200 of an assault weapon, officials said. 

For more information, call the Attorney General's Citizens Services unit at (609) 984-5828 or visit www.nj.gov/guns.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Claude Brodesser-Akner contributed to this report.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

Prosecutors said he was angered when his roommate told him he needed to move out

NEWARK -- An Essex County jury has found a 53-year-old Belleville man guilty of murder in the stabbing death of his wheelchair-bound roommate, prosecutors said.

Edwin Andujar. (Essex County Prosecutor's Office)
 

Following a trial before Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin in Newark, the jury found Edwin Andujar guilty of first-degree murder and weapons offenses in the Aug. 7, 2014 stabbing of Thomas Parent, 59.

Assistant Prosecutor Michele Miller, who tried the case with Assistant Prosecutor Meredith Mona, called Parent's killing "an unthinkable, cowardly, intentional act."

"This defendant brutally stabbed the victim 12 times as he sat defenseless in his wheelchair," Miller said in a statement.

At trial, Miller argued Andujar -- who was unemployed and living in the apartment rent-free -- had stabbed Parent with a kitchen knife in his groin, stomach and back after the man told him he had to move out, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

Authorities said Parent had just come from rehabilitation and was dependent on a wheelchair at the time. Parent succumbed to his injuries five days after the stabbing, and Andujar's charges were upgraded from attempted murder.

The Prosecutor's Office said Andujar, who has one prior conviction for endangering the welfare of a child, faces 30 years to life in state prison. Andujar, who is currently being held at the Essex County Correctional Facility, is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 17.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

A New York entrepreneur duped investors telling them were giving money for a fitness training program, authorities said.

NEWARK -- A New York man was sentenced to more than three years in prison for defrauding investors who thought they were investing in a popular fitness training program, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick said Tuesday.

Joshua Bryce Newman, 37, ran a two-year scheme soliciting loans and investments for several fitness businesses but instead used the money to repay others who had invested in his other projects, officials said. He defrauded about 30 people of $3 million, Fitzpatrick said.

Newman was also involved in a film production company and other venture capital work but ran into trouble when a film project about the New York Yankees called "Keeper of the Pinstripes" failed, Fitzpatrick said. 

Authorities said Newman used false documentation to get loans making investors believe he would repay them. 

Newman previously pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge William H. Walls sentenced him to 41 months in prison, three years of supervised released and $3 million of restitution on Tuesday. 

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

A 2015 raid yielded kilos of crack and powder cocaine

NEWARK -- An Irvington man who belonged to a ring that dealt  crack and powder cocaine was sentenced to 108 months in prison, the US Attorney's Office said Tuesday.

Antonio "Mo" Bivens, 44, previously pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to distribute at least 280 grams of crack cocaine.

Bivens belonged to ring led by another Irvington man, Kenneth "Saleem: Hammond, 49. Hammond has also been sentenced to nine years in prison on drug charges.

Bivens dealt crack and powder cocaine out of two homes owned by Hammond. In November 2015, law enforcement carried out at a raid at the properties, finding two kilos of crack and 12 kilos of powder cocaine.

Eight presidents and chancellors took home $1 million or more in total compensation, the survey found.

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, criticized for not holding meetings with his constituents in person, held his fifth telephone "town hall" on Tuesday

MORRISTOWN -- U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen's latest telephone 'town hall' stuck to familiar themes Tuesday as he again defended his vote to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

The first caller, identified as Sherry from Morris Plains, asked Frelinghuysen why he voted for a bill that "you yourself said is not good" -- a reference to his prior statement that the legislation would be improved "significantly in the Senate."

"I think we're going to make progress. We want to see what the Senate comes up with," Frelinghuysen said.

Earlier, Frelinghuysen reiterated his view that the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is failing.

"We made a commitment to health care reform," Frelinghuysen said.

"It obviously hasn't been easy. It certainly hasn't been a popular decision," Frelinghuysen said.

Caller, Christine from Stanhope, told Frelinghuysen she is a Democrat and has voted for him but is troubled by "your take on the whole health care thing."

Frelinghuysen said he remains optimistic about the Senate bill and its ability to help more people with limited resources.

"I am hopeful that the Senate package, if we ever see it, will do more to meet the needs of people on Medicaid," Frelinghuysen said.

Frelinghuysen was not asked about President Donald Trump's recent description of the House bill -- which narrowly passed in May with Frelinghuysen's support -- as "mean."

Nor was he asked about the estimate, from the Congressional Budget Office on Monday, that the Senate bill would result in an additional 22 million Americans losing their health coverage by 2026.

Fallout from that estimate prompted the Senate Republican leadership, on Tuesday, to delay any vote until after the July 4th holiday.

Most of the questions during the 61-minute session focused on topics unrelated to the current health care debate on Capitol Hill, ranging from improper use of handicapped parking spaces to a U.S. Labor Department rule affecting financial advisers.

The second to last of about 16 questions on Tuesday was from Steve in Wayne, who said he has "learned a lot" from Frelinghuysen's telephone town halls and asked for his thoughts on the partisan divide among Americans. 

Frelinghuysen, in response, said, "I think we are in a time of heightened anxiety."

He then referenced Trump's opponents, stating that they "want to reverse" the outcome of the election.

"They're unhappy about a lot of things the president has said, his choice of words. I believe in free speech, but really there's an absence of civil discourse," Frelinghuysen said.

He added that those on the "hard conservative right" were contributing to the division.

On one point, Frelinghuysen drew a clear distinction between himself and Trump.

"There is no doubt that Russia meddled in our election," he said.

The 12-term congressman has been criticized for not holding in-person town halls. This is the fifth session he's held with his constituents by telephone.

District officials say they saw positive trends with the Class of 2017.

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