Video from a Pemberton Township, New Jersey, council meeting on Wednesday shows Republican Mayor Matthew Bianchini getting out of his seat, charging toward a resident who has reportedly been heckling him, and shouting "I am f-cking getting you" before being restrained and escorted out of the room.
The confrontation occurred during a public session where former township Community Development Director Kenneth Gerber and his attorney addressed the council about Gerber's recent termination.
Gerber, a retired police chief, was among those who physically held Bianchini back.
Councilman Perry Doyle, also a retired officer, restrained the mayor and removed him from the chambers as the resident, Michael Sawka, demanded that police arrest Bianchini for threats and assault.
WATCH:
Video captured the tense moment a New Jersey mayor charged toward a resident in the middle of a township council meeting, forcing several people to intervene.
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 23, 2026
Mayor Matthew Bianchini of Pemberton Township admits he lost his temper, saying: "I just basically snapped."
The mayor… pic.twitter.com/ujkFU12poz
The Pines Barren Tribute reports:
Sawka then shouted from his seat, "He should resign!" Bianchini's wife then exchanged words with Sawka, while the mayor, still being held against the wall, exchanged words with those still restraining him.
Councilman Perry Doyle, Jr., a retired township cop, walked over to the mayor, then tried to calm Bianchini down, but the mayor again attempted to charge at Sawka, prompting Doyle to put the mayor in a restraining position while removing him from the room, taking him into a conference room beside council chambers.
As Doyle removed the mayor, Bianchini pointed toward Sawka, declaring, "I am getting you – I am fuc*** getting you!"
Sawka then stood up and shouted that Bianchini made a "threat," asserting, "He just threatened me! That is on video! That is on audio!"
"I want the police here to arrest him for that threat!" Sawka declared. "That is assault!"
Bianchini later told 6ABC that he "just basically snapped" and described the outburst as "a long time coming."
The mayor acknowledged that threatening the resident was wrong and said, "I'm not gonna get anybody," but he also stated, "Was it wrong? Absolutely. Was it justified? Absolutely. And I would do it again if I had to."
In a Facebook post viewed by the Pine Barrens Tribune, Bianchini wrote that he would not apologize, claiming his wife and daughter were "physically and verbally attacked" during the meeting.
"I will not apologize for my actions last night. If you attack my family, as that resident did last night, I will act. My wife and daughter were both physically and verbally attacked. Were my actions wrong? Probably. Were they justified? Absolutely!"
Bianchini said the breaking point came when Sawka allegedly gestured toward his daughter and then gave him the middle finger.
His wife wrote on Facebook, "My daughter asked him to please stop talking so that this could continue. A female stood up and began telling my daughter to 'shut up.' My daughter told her this doesn't involve you, to which she responded, 'want to take this outside.' Mr. Sawka, who had been making comments all night that were mumbled, while he was looking at myself and daughter, then proceeded to 'flail his hand' while flipping my husband off. This was observed by my husband, and you can see what happened from there. I am not condoning my husband's actions, but I will say as a parent and a spouse, I get his protection mode."
Another member of the family said that Sawka has been harassing the mayor and his family for months on Facebook.
Sawka, a frequent critic who has spoken at prior meetings, denied directing comments at Bianchini's family. He told 6ABC he stayed seated the entire time.
"I'm just sitting there," Sawka recalled. "I never got up. I sat there the whole time. I was calm the whole time."
Sawka has now filed a municipal court complaint seeking assault and terroristic threats charges.
Police have not publicly confirmed whether they will pursue the matter. No formal charges have been filed yet.
This wasn't Bianchini's first heated moment at a public meeting.
In May, he told Councilman Joshua Ward to "shut the f-ck up" during a budget discussion, according to the Pine Barrens Tribune.
Bianchini was elected mayor in January after succeeding Jack Tompkins, who resigned amid multiple workplace sexual misconduct allegations.
The mayor is up for reelection in November.
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