Rally targets congressman who wrote to activist’s employer

MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) — Dozens of protesters congregated Friday at the office of a Republican congressman who wrote a letter to a donor mentioning that a member of an opposition group worked for him.

The protesters gathered at Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen’s office in Morristown, NJ.com (https://bit.ly/2q4CmTY) reported.

Frelinghuysen’s letter to a board member of Lakeland Bank in March included a handwritten note saying one of the “ringleaders” of the liberal activist group NJ 11th For Change worked at the bank.

Bank attorney Saily Avelenda said this week that she resigned after being questioned about her involvement in the group. Avelenda told The Associated Press on Monday that other factors also influenced her decision to resign, but that being confronted about her outside activities made her uncomfortable.

The bank later tweeted that its employees are allowed to “support the political process” as they choose.

Frelinghuysen’s campaign downplayed the letter as “brief and innocuous.”

A nonpartisan watchdog group has asked the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate.

Frelinghuysen is serving his 12th term in Congress and heads the powerful House Committee on Appropriations. NJ 11th For Change has criticized Frelinghuysen for not holding in-person town halls to discuss President Donald Trump’s policies.