Sussex County GOP Chairman Joe Labarbera with his sheep and cows at his home in Stillwater, N.J., on Sunday, December 1, 2024. Ed Murray| For NJ Advance Media
Editor's Note
This story is part of Project Extreme, a yearlong examination into the rise of extremism in New Jersey and its permeation into everyday life. The project is supported in part by a grant from The John Farmer Memorial Journalism Fund.
Read the first part here: https://projects.nj.com/extreme/
To grassroots conservative activists, Bill Hayden checked all the boxes.
He was brash and bombastic, unafraid to stick a finger in the eye of the establishment. His in-your-face, hardline approach — such as comparing COVID masks to the yellow stars Jews were forced to wear in Nazi Germany — harnessed the easy anger and outrage that define the social media era.
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About the Authors
Riley Yates | Reporting
Riley Yates is the lead data reporter for NJ Advance Media, writing for NJ.com and The Star-Ledger. He has spent most of his career covering criminal justice, and has won numerous awards for his investigative pieces. He is a native of Petersburg, Alaska, and Seattle and has called New Jersey home since 2007. He is also a FIDE master of chess.
Spencer Kent | Reporting
Spencer Kent is an enterprise reporter for NJ.com and The Star-Ledger. He reported on the COVID-19 pandemic with stories and investigations into the virus’ spread, its impact on New Jersey residents and the toll on front line workers, families of victims and survivors. He was a Livingston Award finalist for his reporting on a South Jersey man’s recovery after contracting a rare and deadly flesh-eating disease that left him a quadruple amputee. He has also won several state journalism awards. Spencer is a Rutgers University graduate and fellow at The USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism.
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