SOUTH PLAINFIELD – Senator Pat Digenan (D-18) said law enforcement authorities “erred on the side of caution” today when they charged Thomas G. Kaiser with one count of possession of a destructive device for an unlawful purpose in the second degree and one count of possession of a destructive device in the third degree.

“The accused has been transferred to Monmouth County,” Digenan told InsiderNJ, noting the origin of what the prosecutor’s office referred to as a suspicious package.

The package allegedly contained a “destructive device,” which led authorities to Kaiser’s South Plainfield address, which is located near the start of the parade route where Governor Phil Murphy, Diegnan and others planned to walk.

“This was an isolated incident,” Diegnan said, who noted that he was born and raised in South Plainfield.

“It’s a very tight community,” said the senator, whose law office is located near the center of town.

No one was hurt in today’s incident.

“The governor was ready to come down,” Diegan said. “It’s sad because folks work all year for this.”

Police transported the 55-year-old Kaiser the Sea Bright Police Department where he was criminally charged.

The South Plainfield Police Department canceled the South Plainfield Labor Day Parade out of “an abundance of caution and due to the potential threat to the community.”

According to the Middlesex County Prosecutor:

“On September 1, 2019, an investigation began in Monmouth County when a suspicious package with a destructive device was left at Donovan’s Reef in Sea Bright. An investigation by the Sea Bright Police Department and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office led to the South Plainfield residence of Thomas Kaiser.”