Edward Andrew Paltzik, Attorney

"Guilt by Association" This is an unjust concept wholly incompatible with the Second Amendment. But the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office (BCPO) STILL disagrees. That's why we've filed our Amended Complaint in Aliaj et al. v. BCPO et al., 2:25-cv-17131 (D.N.J.): saf.org/wp-content/upl… Our suit seeks to vindicate a simple but fundamental principle: The government canNOT and may NOT confiscate firearms from law-abiding citizens based on who they live with--FULL STOP. Cohabitant disqualifications cannot and may not be imputed to law-abiding citizens as a pretext for stripping them of their fundamental right to keep and bear arms. To understand the absurdity and illegality of BCPO's unconstitutional cohabitant-based confiscation policies, all you need to do is play out this tyrannical thinking to its logical conclusion: Children are by far the largest category of persons disqualified from firearms ownership. Parents, obviously, live with their children. Therefore, under BCPO's twisted logic, PARENTS would also be categorically disqualified from firearms ownership. This, of course, is ridiculous. But that's exactly the point of our suit. An actual Prosecutor's Office has taken the position that this unconstitutional line of thinking is worthy of transformation into actual and official POLICY that then gets executed in real life. Please continue to support The Second Amendment Foundation in any way that you are able. When it comes to protecting our Second Amendment, SAF is #1, simply the best, beyond any doubt. SAF works tirelessly every day to safeguard our fundamental right to keep and bear arms. Thank you SAF -- my friends Adam Kraut and William Sack. Thank you Taylor Dykema PLLC -- my friends Avery Horovitz and Meredith Lloyd. Thank you to my friend and friend of the Second Amendment, Joe LoPorto.

"Guilt by Association" = Unconstitutional & Unacceptable when it comes to the Second Amendment. Thanks to the generous backing and limitless imagination of our friends at The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), in particular my friends Adam Kraut and William Sack, we were able to bring a powerful and long-needed federal suit in November 2025 on behalf of Fort Lee, NJ resident Elsid Aliaj against the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office (BCPO) to put an end to BCPO's unconstitutional policy of confiscating law-abiding citizens' firearms based on the purported disqualification of family members and other cohabitants. SAF Case Summary: saf.org/cases/aliaj-v-… SAF Press Release: saf.org/saf-files-laws… On December 12, 2025, BCPO, under pressure from our suit, returned Elsid's firearms. "Bearing Arms" wrote about my trip with Elsid to police headquarters to retrieve his firearms, here: bearingarms.com/john-petrolino… Also because of our suit, BCPO discontinued its retaliatory state court proceeding in which BCPO had sought to revoke Elsid's Firearms Purchaser Identification Card (FPIC) and to illegally compel Elsid's production of his wife's medical records. However, that was not the end of the matter. To date, BCPO refuses to change its policies, which means that lawful firearms owners in Bergen County, NJ are still subject to unconstitutional confiscation of firearms based on purported cohabitant disqualifications. Accordingly, we've amended our Complaint, adding two additional Plaintiffs--Martin Hroncich and Luis Rene De La Cruz Franco--and substantial new claims: SAF Press Release: saf.org/saf-expands-ex… Amended Complaint: saf.org/wp-content/upl… The message here is clear: citizens are tired of New Jersey's forever war on the Second Amendment, and case-by-case, suit-by-suit, citizen-by-citizen, and it ends NOW. We will make sure that this type of "guilt by association" deprivation of rights becomes a thing of the past. Thank you also to my Taylor Dykema colleagues Avery Horovitz and Meredith Lloyd, Esq., and our strategic partner Joe LoPorto, without whom this suit would not be possible.

My friend and client Joe McCann is creating a 501c3 Foundation in honor of Ashly Robinson, dedicated to preventing self-harm and helping people who have thoughts of self-harm: tmz.com/2026/06/13/joe… tmz.com/2026/06/12/ash… Thank you to @TMZ and @CharlieNeff for telling this important story!

My friend and client Joe McCann has posted his full statement: "I Cannot Tell You - Joe McCann on Ashly Robinson" icannottellyou.com

I knew all along that my friend and client Joe McCann was an innocent man. Joe's innocence was summed up perfectly in yesterday's public statement by Zuberi Chembera, Deputy Director of Investigations for the Zanzibar Police Force, in 3 simple words: "Without Any Doubt"

Regarding the exoneration of Joe McCann, below are the key quotes from today's public statement by Zuberi Chembera, Deputy Director of Investigations for the Zanzibar Police Force, as reported by The Chanzo: x.com/thechanzo/stat… "The investigation confirmed without any doubt that the act by the deceased, which she carried out on the 8th of April 2026 of attempting to hang herself at the Zuri Hotel, was what led to or caused her death on April 9, 2026 at around 3:00 PM." "Therefore, based on the evidence collected regarding that incident, there is no person who can be linked in any way whatsoever to the death of the deceased." "The evidence confirms that the deceased died as a result of her suicide attempt which occurred on April 8, 2026 . . . ."

Statement About My Friend & Client Joe McCann: "Today, the Tanzania Police Force officially announced that the tragic death of Ashly Robinson was 'beyond any doubt' by suicide. This exonerating announcement marks the end of an exhaustive, professional, and unbiased investigation carried out for the sole purpose of revealing the truth. Beyond any doubt, the truth now revealed to the world is this: Joe McCann is a completely innocent man." Tanzania Police Force Statement: t.co/tQAmiHNM6Q Joe's Statement: x.com/joemccann/stat… TMZ's Coverage: tmz.com/2026/06/04/joe… tmz.com/2026/06/04/ash…

"The heart is like a forest. One cannot see into it." － Old Swahili Proverb Today's official announcement from Tanzanian authorities that my soulmate Ashly Robinson died by suicide does not lessen the tragedy of her death. I miss Ashly every moment of every day and the pain of being without her will never go away. A sudden loss of this magnitude is not something I can simply get over. My priorities all along were getting Ashly home and cooperating with the authorities to ensure that the truth would be revealed. I wish to express my deepest gratitude to the dedicated men and women of the Tanzania Police Force for their professional, sensitive, and thorough investigation.

Aleksandr Levit J.D., Ave Maria School of Law (2026) Road Named After Him, "Aleksandr Alley"

Aleksandr Levit My Brother4Life Father & Husband Extraordinaire J.D., Ave Maria School of Law (2026) "Awe & Respect" are the two best words to express my feelings about your accomplishment: earning your J.D. over the last 3 years as you entered your fourth decade on Earth, having already proven yourself as a successful entrepreneur, with nothing left to prove. Yet, while running a business and being a great family man, you decided to attack the challenge of becoming a law student, then navigated your way through law school---and impressively. It was my privilege to have a front row seat watching you put in the work that was required and then some, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. On top of all that, you pulled off the most impressive graduate school commute I've ever heard of---4.5 to 5 hours round trip, multiple times per week, from Florida's East Coast through the Everglades to Florida's West Coast, in the process mastering the navigation of "Alligator Alley" better than any other human past or present. You compiled a perfect driving record on this notorious stretch of wilderness road through rain (not infrequently torrential) or shine; by day or at night (it's really dark out there); and well-rested or otherwise (often the latter). In conclusion, I say with a level of confidence beyond a reasonable doubt---that Road should be renamed: "Aleksandr Alley."

Christian Herrera My Friend, Student & Protégé May 2026: A Month to Remember 1) Earned his J.D. from Saint Thomas University College of Law; 2) Earned CALI Award for the highest exam grade in My Class, "White Collar Crime"; 3) Earned CALI Award for the highest exam grade in "Criminal Procedure II"; 4) Earned "Mighty Machine Award" for the highest overall grade in My Class, "White Collar Crime"; 5) Earned and Accepted an invitation from Me to join our rogues' gallery of law-talking people at Taylor Dykema after he conquers the Florida Bar Exam this coming July. Key Word here is "Earned." Congratulations, Christian! Very proud of you for finishing like a champion at STU Law---you came to the wire like Secretariat! August can't come soon enough.

EVEN MORE TRUTH About My Friend & Client Joe McCann: "A viral video claiming to show Ashlee Jenae being chased by her fiancé Joe McCann in a hotel before she was found dead in her room is nothing more than some A.I. generated slop ... at least according to Joe's legal team. In a social media post that's picking up steam online, a woman is being chased by a bald man in what appears to be a hotel stairwell and hallway. The post claims to show new footage of Ashlee and Joe. But Joe's attorney, Edward Andrew Paltzik, tells TMZ ... 'This video is an atrocious deep fake. We are investigating who is responsible for peddling this garbage and will be taking forceful legal action.' " tmz.com/2026/05/21/ash…

MORE TRUTH About My Friend & Client Joe McCann: "Joe McCann's lawyer, Edward Andrew Paltzik, tells TMZ ... authorities in Tanzania returned Joe's American passport to him yesterday after he remained in Tanzania for nearly a month while cooperating with authorities. Edward clarifies this was not a newly-issued passport from the State Department and explains it was Joe's actual passport that he voluntarily handed over to authorities the day after Ashlee's death. Tanzanian authorities chose to give it back to Joe on Thursday. Even further, Edward says authorities then authorized and allowed Joe to return to the U.S., and Joe will arrive sometime soon at an 'undisclosed location' on U.S. soil. Despite online rumors, Joe was never arrested or locked up ... and Edward tells us Joe stayed cooperative with investigators the whole time. Authorities haven't said publicly if Joe has been officially cleared by authorities in the investigation, but clearly, Joe's not under intense suspicion if they're letting him leave." tmz.com/2026/05/08/joe…

After an April Fools' Month of egregious disinformation and misinformation about my friend and client Joe McCann, we are pleased to see that May has brought a dramatic turn of events, as we finally have accurate coverage of Joe courtesy of TMZ. In the very near future, I look forward to sharing more TRUTH about Joe, a truly good and decent man. Anyone selling the anti-Joe April Fools' narrative is either an ignorant clickbaiter or a malicious profiteer. tmz.com/2026/05/21/ash… tmz.com/2026/05/08/joe… tmz.com/2026/05/07/ash… tmz.com/2026/05/06/ash…