Pemberton Township Mayor Matthew Bianchini charged at a resident during a council meeting after family comments, later saying the outburst was justified and he would repeat it.
Video from Wednesday night’s Pemberton Township council meeting in New Jersey shows Mayor Matthew Bianchini rushing toward resident Michael Sawka, shouting threats as others held him back.
Fox News Digital reported the confrontation unfolded while a recently fired township employee addressed the council, turning a routine session into a physical scramble that now sits before municipal court.
Bianchini, a Republican seeking to keep his seat in the upcoming election, later told WPVI he lost his temper. He said Sawka and another resident directed rude comments at his wife and daughter, who were seated in the room.
Footage credited to Ryan Elmore of the Pine Barrens Tribune via Storyful captured Bianchini lunging from his place and being pulled away by several people in the chamber.
While being held, the mayor shouted at Sawka.
Bianchini could be heard yelling:
"I’m getting you,"
He also used profanity during the exchange. No injuries were reported.
Shortly before the charge, the video shows Sawka gesturing toward the back of the room, then making an obscene gesture at Bianchini. Sawka remained in his seat throughout, by his own account.
In comments to WPVI after the meeting, Bianchini did not deny losing control. He framed the episode as a breaking point after what he and family members described as attacks on his wife and daughter.
He said:
"I just basically snapped,"
Bianchini added:
"I hate to put it this way, but it’s a long time coming."
He acknowledged the words went too far, then stood by the underlying reason.
"I should not have said that," he told the station. "That was wrong. It was in the heat of the moment. I’m not gonna get anybody."
Then came the sharper line that will follow him into the campaign:
"Was it wrong? Absolutely. Was it justified? Absolutely. And I would do it again if I had to,"
His closing point was plain: "Don’t attack my family."
Sawka, described by WPVI as a vocal critic of the mayor, rejected the claim that he aimed comments at Bianchini’s wife or daughter.
He told the station he stayed put and did not escalate.
"I’m just sitting there. I never got up. I sat there the whole time. I was calm the whole time," Sawka said.
On Thursday he filed a municipal court complaint seeking assault and terroristic threats charges against the mayor, WPVI reported. Pemberton Township police have not said whether they will pursue those charges. Fox News Digital reached out to the police and the mayor’s office; no on-record replies appeared in the initial reporting.
The Pemberton Township Democratic Club weighed in after the clash, saying the township deserves leaders who can “stay composed and professional.” The club also urged residents to take part in the coming election in which Bianchini is running to retain the mayor’s office.
Local meetings already run hot when jobs, budgets, and firings are on the agenda. This one crossed from argument into a physical rush caught on camera, with a court complaint filed the next day and no clear word yet from police on criminal charges.
Voters can judge the conduct, the claimed provocation, and the “I would do it again” answer for themselves, family is not fair game, and neither is a mayor who has to be held back in his own council chamber.
