A New Jersey man’s firearms and permits were confiscated by authorities after a weird series of events and possible malfeasance. After filing suit, his oppressors indicate they want to settle.
Elsid Aliaj had his firearms confiscated by the Fort Lee, N.J. police department. After an event that had to do with his wife and a miscommunication at a hospital, Aliaj ended up having his firearms and firearms identification card confiscated. The case is beyond strange and in the time since the lawsuit was filed, both the Bergen County Prosecutor’s office and Fort Lee Police Department want to quietly put this debacle to bed.
As previously reported, Aliaj’s wife was hospitalized with some pregnancy-related health concerns. The hospital wrongfully had her involuntarily committed. The confusion stemmed from language barriers and a misunderstanding. After the hospitalization occurred is when the authorities executed the seizure. In the wake of the warrantless seizure, the authorities also demanded that Aliaj produce copies of his wife’s medical documents — of which he has no authority to produce and further, she’s not a party to the matter involving the seizure.
Approximately six weeks ago Aliaj filed a lawsuit backed by the Second Amendment Foundation and New Jersey Firearms Owners Syndicate in the federal U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. On Dec.12, NJFOS posted on X an announcement that the county and borough wanted to settle the case.
“Both the Borough of Fort Lee and the Bergen County Prosecutors Office have begun the process to settle this case. As part of that settlement process, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office has withdrawn it’s [sic] motions for the revocation of Elsid’s FID card and the motion to produce Elsid’s wife’s mental health records,” the post stated. “While there is much more work to do to finalize a settlement, Ed Paltzik went over to Fort Lee today with Elsid to take back his constitutionally protected property.”
Accompanying the post was a copy of the letter sent to Aliaj’s attorney, Edward Paltzik, and a selfie of the pair with Aliaj holding a firearms case.
“The State respectfully requests that the Motion to revoke Elsid Aliaj’s Firearms Purchaser Identification Card and Compelling the Sale of his Firearms be WITHDRAWN at the present time,” the letter stated. “Any additional motions pertaining to the production of medical records are also WITHDRAWN.
“The State has arranged for Mr. Aliaj’s firearms to be returned to Mr. Aliaj by the Fort Lee Police Department. Mr. Aliaj can contact Detectives Pothos or Bakas in the Fort Lee Property Room via telephone at [redacted] between the hours of 9:00AM to 4:00PM, Monday through Friday, to arrange for the release of his firearms.”
Bill Sack is the director of legal operations for the Second Amendment Foundation. When contacted for comment, Sack said that the parties indicating they want to have settlement talks is encouraging.
“While we’re encouraged with both the Borough and Prosecutor’s Office indicating their interest in settling this case, there are a lot of details yet to be ironed out,” Sack told Bearing Arms. “And let’s not forget that it was months of constitutional injury and the initiation of a federal lawsuit that brought these folks to the settlement table. Our goal all along has been to restore Mr. Aliaj’s rights while also making sure Bergen County officials will never do this to anyone else ever again.”
A representative from New Jersey Firearms Owners Syndicate was enthusiastic about these steps. Director of Legal Operations Joe LoPorto said that the return of Aliaj’s firearms in the State of New Jersey is borderline miraculous.
“Having Elsid’s firearms returned to him is remarkable,” LoPorto told Bearing Arms. “In New Jersey, officials who are ordered by courts to return firearms often play games for months, if not years, when making the aggrieved whole again. For Fort Lee and the Bergen County Prosecutors to return the property under a non-compulsory scenario speaks volumes to the level of infringement they’ve knowingly inflicted. We are happy, but we won’t rest until Elsid is 100 percent vindicated.”
It’s rumored that there are others similarly situated in Bergen County dealing with unconstitutional arms confiscations and unwarranted permitting revocation. If there’s a pattern of abuse in this jurisdiction, this is the perfect place for Attorney General Pam Bondi’s new 2A Taskforce to pay attention to.
Thankfully Aliaj had his firearms returned to him. There’s still plenty left in the battle though. This is an individual who was wrongfully and unlawfully disarmed for eight months. How things are going to flesh out, it’s hard to say. However, considering the willingness of the parties to both return Aliaj’s firearms and signal they want to settle, the rest of the issues might be easily reconcilable. This is a developing story and we’ll continue to offer updates as they arise.
Editor’s Note: Second Amendment groups across the country are doing everything they can to protect our right to keep and bear arms.
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