New York police unit has stopped spying on Muslims in New Jersey: official

Mohamed El Filali, executive director of the Islamic Center of Passaic County, addresses a gathering at Saint Peter's College in Jersey City, N.J., Thursday, March 8, 2012, during an interfaith news conference to address concerns about the spying conducted by the New York City Police Department on the Muslim community in New Jersey. (AP/Mel Evans)

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The Associated Press
Published Wednesday, September 5, 2012 4:21PM EDT

NEWARK, N.J. -- New Jersey's attorney general has assured Muslim leaders that a New York Police Department unit that conducted surveillance of Muslims is no longer operating in the state.

A spokesman for Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa confirmed the meeting Wednesday.

The existence of the Demographics Unit, revealed in a series by The Associated Press, angered many Muslims.

The NYPD has defended its surveillance of Muslims in neighbouring New Jersey as legal. Chiesa has said the police did not violate New Jersey laws.

NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly, who has defended his program, says he wasn't aware of the New Jersey meeting.