Vile pornography and racist comments shared in NJ election debate meeting

TRENTON — An online meeting to discuss who would host New Jersey's gubernatorial debates this fall ended abruptly on Thursday when a hacker interrupted the session with a brief outburst of racist comments and pornographic videos, officials said.

The state's Election Law Enforcement Commission had scheduled the meeting to hear from media companies and other partners seeking to sponsor the debates. The meeting had been marred by a variety of noises before the disruption occurred.

“Internet hackers perpetrated a vile and shocking breach of public trust," the commission said in a statement. "ELEC ended the meeting as quickly as possible and offers its apologies to all who witnessed the attack.”

The commission notified the governor's office and the state Attorney General's Office about the disruption and said it is seeking a full investigation into the incident.

Officials said they will reschedule the meeting about who will host the two debates for gubernatorial candidates and one for the lieutenant governor hopefuls.

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