By: Jordan Baker

A New Jersey school board candidate was forced to drop out after being caught sending vicious, sexual messages about a conservative female board member in a group chat titled “ThisBitchNeedsToDie,” the New York Post first reported.

Photos of Scott Semaya’s texts about Danielle Bellomo at a July school board meeting surfaced on social media this week, sparking outrage and prompting an investigation by local authorities, the Post reported. The affluent Marlboro suburb has been shaken by the scandal, which has now drawn national attention.

One of the messages allegedly read, “Bellomo must be cold — her nips could cut glass right n…” as Semaya typed the “o,” according to screenshots obtained by the NY Post. Bellomo, a 38-year-old MAGA-supporting mother of three, told the Post the messages left her “absolutely shocked” and sent “chills down my spine.”

Semaya, 38, an accountant who has expressed progressive liberal views, was running for one of three open seats on the Marlboro Board of Education. He cited “family circumstances” in announcing his withdrawal from the race. His running mate, Melissa Goldberg, also dropped out shortly thereafter, the Post reported.

Outraged at the content of the messages, Bellomo said she believes she was targeted because of her political beliefs. “I’m a proud and unapologetic advocate for parental rights, for my children, for our town and our state — for that they have this hate for me,” she told the New York Post.

The group chat allegedly involved five men and reportedly included Chad Hyett, the current Marlboro school board vice president. Hyett had previously filed an ethics complaint against Bellomo in December, which was not substantiated, the Post reported. Bellomo has obtained a protective order against Mitesh Gandhi, another alleged participant, though Gandhi’s attorney is seeking its dismissal.

Bellomo, who is serving her first full three-year term, said she had already endured months of online threats and filed several police reports before the latest messages emerged. “These text messages are the first time I was able to see they don’t want me alive,” she told the Post.

Marlboro Schools Superintendent Michael Ballone told the Post that the district takes safety seriously and works closely with local police at board meetings. Meanwhile, Democratic Mayor Jonathan Hornik condemned the messages as “completely unacceptable” and said those responsible are “clearly not equipped to hold public office,” the NY Post reported.

Social media reactions in the town of 41,000 have been scathing. Former board member Aldo Patruno criticized Semaya for presenting himself as a family man while allegedly behaving like a “pervert and criminal” in the group chat. Public outrage has made Marlboro a heated battleground, the Post reported.

The fallout from the scandal underscores growing concerns about threats and harassment against public officials at the local level, as well as the role of social media in exposing such behavior, according to the New York Post.