A Facebook post about the far-right rally in Charlottesville is prompting controversy in Byram
The retired Byram police chief who gained notoriety after his controversial comments about last year's deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, says the local official who called him a racist on Facebook should apologize.
Ex-Chief and former Byram Mayor Eskil Danielson is a critic of the Black Lives Matter movement who has described Trayvon Martin as a "thug," argued that Eric Garner caused his own death by resisting arrest and lamented the removal of Confederate statues, among other observations, in frequent letters to local media outlets.
His commentaries have drawn some criticism, most notably from Byram Councilman Scott Olson.
Danielson touched a fresh nerve Nov. 2 when the New Jersey Herald published his letter criticizing some who showed up to oppose the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Va., in August.
The two-day rally, whose stated goal was to oppose the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue, drew an influx of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and others chanting racist and antisemitic slogans.
In his letter, Danielson blamed counter-protesters for the violence that occurred. He repeated a debunked conspiracy theory that Heather Heyer, who was struck and killed by a vehicle allegedly driven by a Nazi sympathizer into the counter-protesters Aug. 12, instead died of a heart attack.
It was a followup to his Oct. 10 letter expressing similar sentiments.
Olson reacted by linking Danielson's Nov. 2 letter to his Facebook page and referring to him as "former Byram Township Chief of Police & Mayor, current racist/white nationalist dog-whistle blower."
Danielson was incensed and filed a complaint with Byram, accusing Olson of violating the town's employee handbook by posting what the ex-chief characterized as a libelous statement on the Internet.
Byram's municipal attorney, Thomas N. Ryan, subsequently informed Danielson that no disciplinary action would be taken.
"Mr. Olson took a personal action on his personal Facebook page. This dispute is not related to the township. It is a personal dispute between two private citizens," Ryan wrote in a Jan. 5 letter provided Tuesday to NJ Advance Media.
Danielson, though, is not letting the matter drop and said Tuesday he is considering a lawsuit against Olson.
"It was just an egregious bit of slander that I'm not taking lightly," Danielson said.
Olson did not respond to a request for comment.
The racially-charged dustup is causing some discomfort in Byram, a town of about 8,300 on the southern tip of Sussex County. Nearly 95 percent of Byram residents, including Danielson and Olson, are white.
It has prompted discussion during at least two council meetings. On Jan. 16, one of Danielson's three sons, Clifton Fire Lt. Kevin Danielson, called on Olson to resign.
Asked about it Tuesday, Byram Councilman Harvey Roseff said he hopes the dispute will end.
"I don't think Skip is what he was called," Roseff said, adding that he sees the dispute as a "private matter" between the two.
Danielson has been a fixture in public life in Sussex County for decades. He was Byram's chief of police from 1971 to 1993, later serving as the county's emergency management director.
"My experience and my work always has been colorblind," said Danielson, the father of Andover Township Police Chief Eric Danielson.
Danielson said he would drop his threat of a lawsuit if Olson offers a "sincere apolology."
However, he also stood by his false contention that Heyer, whom he labeled an "obese chain smoker" in a followup post on his letter, died of a heart attack.
That particular conspiracy theory -- debunked by the medical examiner, who ruled that Heyer's death was a homicide and caused by blunt-force trauma -- has gained so much traction on the far-right that Newsweek devoted a story seeking to correct the record in October.
Danielson, though, said he stands by his version.
He maintained that his "research," which he said includes but is not limited to watching videos on the Internet, is "not racist nor pro-white supremicist."
Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook