Delaware

Delaware’s most powerful take questions at town hall in Wilmington

Published

9 months ago

April 26, 2025

Delaware’s most powerful take questions at town hall in Wilmington

Hundreds of people joined Delaware’s most influential political figures at Cab Calloway School for the Arts in Wilmington for a town hall, where resistance to the Trump administration and the war in Gaza took the spotlight.

Around 900 tickets were moved for this event, which took place in the school’s theater. The All-Democratic lineup of U.S. Sens. Chris Coons and Lisa Blunt Rochester, U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride, Gov. Matt Meyer and Attorney General Kathy Jennings spoke a lot about being united in strong opposition against the Trump administration.

Not everyone got their question in, but the over two-hour event addressed how each figure would oppose President Trump and his administration most controversial policies, like cuts to federal funding and mass deportations. The war in Gaza and the related stances of the First State’s federal delegation was another hot topic, with multiple people interrupting the town hall to press them about their stances.

“I’ve never been through 100 days like the ones we are going through right now,” Coons said in his opening remarks.

McBride and others describes their resistance strategy

McBride, in her first term as the state’s lone representative in the House of Representatives, gave a rundown on how she will resist Trump administration policies she disagrees with.

When asked whether she would support Articles of Impeachment against Trump, she said she believes he has violated the law but did not commit to it. She said turning the public against the current administration is more important than impeaching him within his first 100 days. She called persuading the public is an art form that takes time and requires her to “fight smart.”

“I’ve got to be honest with you,” she said in response to a question on impeachment, “the worst thing we can do is slow down public opposition to this President.”

A little while after, one man questioned the federal delegation on their protesting techniques, asking if they would even get arrested at a protest. Blunt Rochester said it’s all about finding a way to protest in a way that works for you. She said she supported Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, in his 24-hour Senate floor marathon by praying with him beforehand and monitoring his health throughout.

Coons said he does his best to serve in Delaware and be able to fulfill his duties in Washington D.C., but has no plans of getting put in handcuffs.

“I don’t think it is a great idea for me to get arrested on your behalf, because I don’t trust this president to let me out,” he said.

AG Jennings has joined other Democratic state attorneys general in countless lawsuits against Trump administration policies.

“There are attorneys general in our country who believe in the rule of law, and they have been so courageous,” she said.

Pro-Palestine protesters disrupt town hall, rattle crowd and politicians

In a scene that has become familiar to political figures who have spoken in favor of Israel and their current operation in Gaza, protesters have interrupted regular proceedings to press them on their stance on the ongoing conflict.

Overall, three protesters were removed by police officers, after some warning, for their disruption. They were not arrested or taken away in handcuffs, rather they were simply thrown out of the building. The congressional delegation answered their concerns but supported Israel’s “right to exist and defend itself” while calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid in devastated Gaza. They also supported “self-determination” in Palestine.

“There are deep and strong feelings about Israel, Hamas and Gaza in our community, but frankly, screaming at me doesn’t move me in a positive way,” Coons said.

McBride spoke about her opposition to people getting arrested or deported for supporting Palestine in the conflict.

“They should not face deportation when they peacefully express that opinion,” she said. “And I will not let anyone disingenuously use a conflict in Middle East to abridge the rights of anyone in this country.”

Meyer makes commitments on state level on aid in dying, voting rights and reproductive freedom

Not everything asked at the town hall was for national or international problems. Some were for controversial topics on the state level.

Meyer committed to signing House Bill 140, which would allow medical aid in dying. That bill is past both chambers of the state legislature.

He supported two other bills that would amend the state’s constitution, which he has no vote in. One expands access to absentee voting ballots, and the other would enshrine reproductive freedom into the state constitution.

He was also asked about high energy prices in Delaware. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Delaware consumes 100% more energy than it produces. He said he is working on a plan to get Delaware running on renewable energy.

“We have a plan that we’re finalizing now so that not tomorrow, not next year, but within a decade, it will go to 100% renewable Delaware produce energy,” he said at the town hall.

He has made affordable housing a large part of his platform, but disagreed with enacting rent control caps on lease renewals at the town halls.

“I’m open to creative solutions,” he said. “I think putting a straight up cap will limit the amount of affordable housing that developers want to build, and will create more problems than it actually solves.”

Shane Brennan covers Wilmington and other Delaware issues. Reach out with ideas, tips or feedback at slbrennan@delawareonline.com.

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Delaware

Wilmington’s first homicide of 2026 claims life of 19-year-old

Published

7 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Wilmington’s first homicide of 2026 claims life of 19-year-old

A 19-year-old man was shot dead in Wilmington’s Southbridge neighborhood in the early hours of Jan. 9, police said.

Wilmington officers arriving to the 200 block of S. Claymont St. about 3:30 a.m. found the teen there.

The teen, whom police have not named, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Anyone with information about this shooting should contact Wilmington Police Detective Derek Haines at (302) 576-3656. People can also provide information to Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) TIP-3333 or delawarecrimestoppers.com.

Violence by the numbers

This is the first homicide reported this year in Delaware, which last year saw a slight drop in all violent killings.

Delaware police reported 52 people being killed in violent crimes in 2025, a drop of nearly 12% when compared with 59 people killed in 2024, according to a Delaware Online/The News Journal database.

While the number of people killed in homicides statewide is down, the number of people killed by gunfire in Delaware was up in 2025 for the third year in a row.

According to the Delaware Online database, 47 were shot dead in Delaware last year. That was one more victim (46) than in 2024, three more (44) than in 2023 and nine more (38) than in 2022.

Despite the increase in gun-related deaths, there were fewer people shot last year in Delaware for the second year in a row.

Police reported 164 people being shot last year in Delaware. The previous year saw 195 people shot and police reported 210 people being shot in 2023.

This was the fewest people shot in Delaware since 2018, when police reported 146 people being shot statewide.

Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.

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Delaware

MERR responds to dead humpback whale washed up near Bethany Beach

Published

20 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

MERR responds to dead humpback whale washed up near Bethany Beach

A dead humpback whale washed up near Bethany Beach on Jan. 8, according to the nonprofit Marine Education Research and Rehabilitation Institute.

The juvenile male was first seen Jan. 6, floating at sea about 2 miles off the Indian River Inlet, a MERR Facebook post said. The bloated 30-foot whale ultimately beached near a private community in the early afternoon of Jan. 8, the post said.

MERR is attempting to coordinate with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to get equipment to move the whale out of the water and onto the beach to perform a necropsy, the post said. Right now, there isn’t enough information to determine a cause of death.

Delaware saw at least three dead whales last year, in the Indian River Bay, at Delaware Seashore State Park and at Pigeon Point. The first two were humpbacks, while the Pigeon Point whale was a fin whale.

A necropsy on the Delaware Seashore whale found blunt force trauma across its back, indicating it may have been struck by a ship, MERR Director Suzanne Thurman said.

Recently, on Jan. 4, a dead fin whale was found on the bow of a ship at the Gloucester Marine Terminal in New Jersey, which is located in the Port of Philadelphia on the Delaware River.

Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on southern Delaware and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Facebook.

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Delaware

Pa. man accused of stealing more than 100 skeletons from Delco cemetery

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Pa. man accused of stealing more than 100 skeletons from Delco cemetery

A Pennsylvania man is accused of stealing more than 100 skeletons from a cemetery in Delaware County.

Jonathan Gerlach, 34, of Ephrata, Pennsylvania, is charged with abuse of corpse, criminal mischief, burglary and other related offenses, Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse revealed on Thursday, Jan. 8.

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Between November 2025 and Jan. 6, 2026, 26 mausoleums and underground burial sites had been burglarized or desecrated at Mount Moriah Cemetery, which stretches from Yeadon Borough, Pennsylvania, to Philadelphia, investigators said.

As police investigated the thefts, they caught Gerlach desecrating a monument at the cemetery on Tuesday, Jan. 6, according to officials. Gerlach was taken into custody and investigators executed a search warrant at his home in Ephrata.

During the search, investigators recovered 100 human skeletons from Gerlach’s home as well as eight more human remains inside a storage locker, according to Rouse.

“Detectives walked into a horror movie come to life the other night guys,” Rouse said. “This is an unbelievable scene that no one involved – from myself to the detectives to the medical examiners that are now trying to piece together what they are looking at, quite literally – none of them have ever seen anything like this before.”

Rouse said some of the stolen skeletons are hundreds of years old.

“We are trying to figure out exactly what we are looking at,” Rouse said. “We quite simply at this juncture are not able to date and identify all of them.”

Rouse also said some of the skeletons are of infants and children.

“It is truly, in the most literal sense of the word, horrific,” Rouse said. “I grieve for those who are upset by this who are going through it who are trying to figure out if it is in fact their loved one or their child because we found remains that we believe to be months old infants among those that he had collected. Our hearts go out to every family that is impacted by this.”

Sources also told NBC10 the thefts are related to a similar case in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Investigators said they are looking at Gerlach’s online community — including his social media groups and Facebook page — to determine if people were buying, selling, or trading the remains.

Gerlach is currently in custody at the Delaware County Prison after failing to post $1 million bail. Online court records don’t list an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

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