A letter sent to McBride's home carried a direct threat against her and her family, McBride's campaign manager Dan Toto said.
TRENTON - Police are investigating after a threatening letter was sent to the home of Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Kathy McBride today, officials confirmed.
The letter includes a "gang reference," said Lt. Steve Varn, head of the detective bureau. Police took the letter into evidence after McBride reported it this afternoon.
"We take this threat very seriously and we're going to investigate it to its conclusion," Varn said.
Varn would not give details on the contents of the letter.
McBride lives in the West Ward on a side street of Stuyvesant Avenue. Stuyvesant has become known for shootouts and drug dealing, much of which police have said is gang-related.
McBride directed calls for comment to her campaign manager, Dan Toto, who said the letter directly threatened both McBride and her family.
"It was not vague," he said. "It was very clear."
Toto said police were guarding McBride's house tonight.
"We have all the confidence that the Trenton Police Department will resolve this matter and that Gov. Christie will get involved," he said.
McBride had previously asked Christie to send more law enforcement officers to Trenton, and aired a commercial this summer where she stood in a graveyard and asked Christie to intercede in the city's crime problems.
In 1993, McBride's son Kenny was shot and killed after attending a dance party at Rider University. That murder spurred McBride to found Mothers Against Violence, to which she dedicated her community activist energies before being elected to city council in 2010.
McBride referenced the loss of her son in her mayoral run kickoff speech on Jan. 20. Toto called McBride "resilient" and said she is doing well considering the threat.
"She's concerned about her family not about herself," Toto said.
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