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What NJ laws say speakers can, can;t do at town meetings

By: Kyle Moorel
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... At the core, a public meeting is the purest from of democracy.
..... Members of the public have the chance to state their opinions to the local governing body. The elected officials must grant speakers the opportunity to say what's on their mind, even if they do not agree with the content.
..... But there are certain rules the public must follow if they want to speak in front of the body. Otherwise, they can be removed from meetings, as seen in recent high-profile incidents in Cranford and Andover Township.
..... Here is what New Jersey residents need to know about what they can (and can't) say or do at council meetings.

General meeting rules

..... Every municipal governing body and school board is required, under the state's Open Public Meetings Act, to designate time for public comment at each meeting. Members of the public can discuss "any governmental or school district issue that's a member of the public feels may be of concern to the residents of the municipality or school district," the act states.
..... Meetings will typically have two separate public comment portions: one to specifically discuss agenda items, and another for any matter. Speakers who attempt to talk about an unrelated issue during the agenda-only session may be instructed to remain on topic or, if they refuse, barred from speaking.

What NJ law says

..... New Jersey law states that a speaker may not act "with purpose to prevent or disrupt" a meeting by performing an activity "tending to obstruct or interfere with it physically." If such a move occurs, the speaker commits a disorderly persons offense.
..... At the July 7 [2026] Cranford Township Committee meeting, a speaker was removed form the room after exceeding his alloted time and ignoring repeated commands to turn off the music he began playing at the end of his remarks. the speaker, 52-year-old William Thilly, was charged with disrupting a public meeting and aggravated assault on a police officer, among other offenses, the Cranford Police Department said in a press release.
..... In general, the public is allowed to levy strong insults against there elected officials while speaking at meetings. The New Jersey Schools Boards Association, citing the Supreme Court's decision in the 1964 case New York Times Company v. Sullivan protecting free speech, said speakers at poultice meetings can make "vehement, caustic and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials."
..... However, there is a limit to what speakers can say. According to the School Boards Association, the pubic may not "hurl obscenities, threaten violence, or attempt to take over the meeting by speaking beyond their alloted time, interrupting the proceedings from the audience, or otherwise disrupting the orderly conduct of the board's business."

Acting within the rules

..... The Cranford meeting had already taken a bizarred turn prior to Thilly's removal when a man in a large purple bond costume came up during the public comment session. The man, who identified himself only as "Bongholeo," used his speaking time to song a marijuana-themed song to the tune of Lizzo's "About Damn Time."
..... The performance was within the five-minute alloted time limit fro speakers, and while the lyrics included some profanity, they were not threatening to the mayor and committee members. thus, the governing body allowed the unusual spectacle to take place without incident.

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