Jack Ciattarelli’s campaign says it plans to sue Mikie Sherrill over the allegations made during the debate

Republican gubernatorial candidate in New Jersey, Jack Ciattarelli, plans to sue his Democratic challenger, Mickey Sherrill, for claiming he “killed tens of thousands of people” by taking advantage of the opioid epidemic.

Ciattarelli’s campaign announced that it plans to file a defamation lawsuit next week against Sherrill over comments she made during Wednesday night’s fiery final debate before Election Day, in which she accused the Republican of making millions from publishing opioid propaganda at his former medical publishing company.

Chris Russell, Ciattarelli’s campaign strategist, said Sherrill “alleged — twice — that Jack Ciattarelli ‘killed tens of thousands of people, including children,’ an apparent defamatory attack that shocked moderators, the press and the public alike.” NJ.com In a statement.

“At a time when political violence and violent rhetoric have become all too common, Mikie Sherrill’s baseless and recklessly accusing a political opponent of mass murder in a televised debate crosses the line,” he added.

During the debate’s most tense moment, Sherrill claimed Ciattarelli made millions “by working with some of the worst criminals and saying opioids are safe, spreading propaganda, spreading their propaganda while tens of thousands of New Jerseyans died.”

At another point in the discussion, Sherrill accused Ciattarelli of “trying to distract from the fact that you have killed tens of thousands of people by printing your disinformation and propaganda.”

Sherrill was referring to the controversy that arose during Ciattarelli’s 2021 governor’s campaign over training materials published by his company, which critics said included pharmaceutical industry talking points about opioids that were dangerously inaccurate.