By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The head of New Jersey’s office of Homeland Security told area business leaders on Thursday that the state is a target for terrorism at a time when would-be terrorists are getting younger and the public increasingly is the first line of defense.
In a speech to the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce, Chris Rodriguez said the threat landscape has changed in the years since the Sept.11 attacks.
Mr. Rodriguez said that since the start of this year, there have been about 70 arrests nationwide of ISIS-related domestic terrorists. He said the new demographic of those people are “not necessarily” men between 18 and 35, but rather as young as 15 to 19.
Social media and the Internet are places where they find inspiration to act out their aggression, he said.
“How do you stop a 15-year-old boy or girl from watching violent Jihadist videos and being inspired to repeat what the Tsarnaev brothers did in the Boston Marathon bombing? How do you stop that?” he said. “Our traditional intelligence methods and collection methods are no longer sufficient.”
He stressed the need for the public to be vigilant and alert law enforcement if they are aware of suspicious behavior by calling 211, a number specifically established to report suspicious activities. He said tips have prevented terror attacks from happening in the region.
“What we want to do is create relationships in the community, and if someone might be going down the wrong path, you’ve got let us know. You’ve got to let someone know,” he said. “The public is often the first line of defense.”
In response to an audience member’s question, he said schools are “sensitive” about law enforcement coming in to interview teachers about a student. “That’s a challenge, but we are trying to get out to schools.”
For New Jersey, he made clear the state is a target for terrorism. He pointed to how the state’s infrastructure supports the largest metropolitan area in the country factoring in the population of northern New Jersey and New York.
He noted that there have been arrests in this state of people “inspired by ISIS” to do bad things.
“As New York City itself has hardened as an operating environment, we’re beginning to see some activity here in New Jersey,” he said.
Yet he pointed to the strong relationship state authorities have with their federal counterparts. He said his department has officers embedded with the FBI, and has direct connections with the New York Police Department. He said agencies share intelligence.
“A lot of the arrests that have been made are a direct result of that cooperation,” he said.
Mr. Rodriguez is originally from New Jersey. He joked that he has connections to the area in that Princeton University was the first college to reject his application. He worked for the CIA and was an adviser to Gov. Chris Christie from 2011 to 2012. Mr. Rodriguez has been in charge of the homeland security since 2014, when the governor asked him to join his cabinet.
“And if any of you have ever had a direct, personal encounter with the governor, when he asks you to do something, it’s kind of hard to say no,” he said.
