Joseph LaBarbera, the chair of the Sussex County Republican Committee, was arrested over the weekend on gun related and other charges.

LaBarbera was transported to the Morris County jail at about 1 a.m. Sunday, according to the local sheriff's office. The Morris jail takes inmates from Sussex. LaBarbera was reportedly arrested in Stillwater,

He was charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, endangering, abuse or neglect of a child, aggravated assault related to allegedly pointing a firearm and unjustified display of a weapon.

Sources said the episode began as a "road rage" incident.

The New Jersey State Police patrol Stillwater, a rural town of about 4.000. Questions about the incident made to the State Police Public Information Office on Sunday afternoon were unavailing.

LaBarbera has been quite vocal as county GOP chair in very "red" Sussex.

Just a few days ago, LaBarbera issued a lengthy condemnation of "left wing violence" in America dating back to the Weather Underground during the Vietnam War protest era.

He was prompted by the arrest last week of Karl Heideck, a lawyer from Pennsylvania, for allegedly harassing and threatening Jill Space, a Sussex County Commissioner, online.

"Political disagreements are inevitable. Threats and violence are not political debate - they are an attack on the democratic process itself," is a small part of what he said.

In a joint statement published in the NJ Globe, the three state legislators representing Sussex - state Sen. Parker Space and Assembly members Dawn Fantasia and Mike Inganamort - said LaBarbera should step aside while the charges are pending. The statement was also joined by the county's five Republican county commissioners.