After a trick or treating incident that began with a South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education candidate’s husband refusing candy to a 10-year-old trick-or-treater and ended with the candidate calling the police on the child’s parents — one of whom is a former Board of Education president — after she said they refused to leave her property, all parties involved have put out statements.
Two mothers posted about the incident on social media after Halloween, saying that their children felt hurt and felt they were treated differently than the other children because they are Black.
On Monday, Board of Education candidate Ashley Donahue, whose husband refused candy to the child, released a statement to voters in which she said, “I recognize that the act of withholding a candy bar was very hurtful to the child, his friends, and their families. I want to be clear that there was no racial motivation behind this action.”
When the child’s parents — Joanne St. Gerard and former BOE President Thair Joshua — came to her house, Donahue also said that she called the police because, “An hour after the original interaction, around 7:30 p.m., Mr. Joshua and Ms. St. Gerard came into our yard and began recording our family. After answering their questions multiple times, we made at least five requests for them to leave our doorstep, they refused, and I made the decision to contact the police.”
Read Donahue’s full statement below.
In a statement sent to the Village Green on November 4, Thair Joshua wrote, “As a family, we are still recovering from this traumatic experience, and as a father, I am focused on helping my son make sense of the incident and the aftermath. We sought to address the situation directly with the Donahues and hoped it would lead to a quick resolution. Obviously, that did not happen.”
Joshua continued, “Though this moment is painful, we hope it sparks reflection, conversation, and accountability—reminding us all how bias and power can quietly shape daily experiences. Every child deserves to be recognized for their full humanity: joyful, imaginative, and deserving of compassion and respect.”
The incident began at the Donahues’ home, which was decorated as a bloody butcher shop for Halloween, when, according to both the child’s mother and another mother who described the incident on Facebook, the 10-year-old dressed as a Demon Slayer reportedly said, keeping in character, “Hey buddy, give me some candy or I’ll slice your head off.”
Donahue’s husband reportedly told the child he was rude and refused to give the child the full-size candy bar he was giving out.
An interaction then ensued between one of the mothers and Donahue’s husband in which the husband first said the child used an expletive but then admitted he did not.
“I initially walked up to him and asked what happened because the boys looked sad and confused,” wrote the mother, Jauhara Pressey. “And he said ‘ that kid was rude to me, he can go next door!’ I then said, ‘why what did he say?’ He then said ‘he said, give me candy or I’ll cut your fu&ing head off’ I was shocked because I know the boys don’t speak that way! I said, ‘come on one of these boys said that to you?’ He said- ‘well he didn’t curse, I don’t like the way he spoke to me, it’s my house and my property and they can get candy from somewhere else.’ I said -‘really it’s Halloween, you have a butcher shop set up, he’s a demon slayer’ he said ‘I’m not giving them anything.'”
Pressey wrote, “Needless to say the boys were hurt. These are 10 year olds just trying to have fun and he ruined their entire evening. As my son’s friend began to cry. My son looked at me and said mommy I feel like this guy is being racist. I told him to trust that feeling because your gut isn’t lying to you.”
Ashley Donahue said she was not present for the initial interaction.
In her Facebook post, Joanne St. Gerard said she and her husband (Thair Joshua) later went to the house to clarify what happened and were told the same story, and said Ashley Donahue then told them to get off their property and threatened to call the police. St. Gerard wrote that she and Joshua eventually moved to the sidewalk to wait for police, who arrived but took no action.
Maplewood Police confirmed that police were called to the scene, responding to “a verbal dispute between a homeowner and a parent and child trick-or-treater.”
On Monday, November 3, both Donahue and the slate of Caplan, Donahue & Rishi for the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education issued statements.
“Sadly, an interaction that evening escalated in ways that no one intended and disrupted what should have been a joyful night for everyone involved,” Donahue said. “A ‘trick-or-treat’ exchange at our doorstep was intense and emotions ran high. We regret how the situation unfolded and wish that it had been handled differently. Our sincere hope is that any resolution can happen privately between neighbors.”
The Caplan, Donahue Rishi campaign posted a statement on November 3 that read, in part:
“For three years, the Halloween-loving Donahue family has treated Trick-or-Treaters to a spooky installation (and yes, full-size candy bars) to the enjoyment of hundreds of children each year. All kids are welcome. We recognize that the Halloween situation with the Joshua family was unfortunate. It escalated through the actions of adults who should have modeled better conflict resolution for the many children watching. We regret how this situation escalated, and that an incident that was not race based is now being purposely mischaracterized as such.” See the Facebook post below.
Village Green has reached out to Donahue for a timeline of events.
From Ashley Donahue:
“Dear friends,
I want to take a moment to speak directly to my friends and supporters about the unfortunate situation that took place between my family and our neighbors, the Pressey family and Joshua family, on Halloween night.
Halloween is meant to be a time of laughter, excitement, and togetherness for families and children. My husband spent days decorating our yard and we bought full size candy bars like we have for every year that we’ve lived in Maplewood; we were excited and ready for this year’s festivities. This is all to say that our family *loves* Halloween!
Sadly, an interaction that evening escalated in ways that no one intended and disrupted what should have been a joyful night for everyone involved. A “trick-or-treat” exchange at our doorstep was intense and emotions ran high. We regret how the situation unfolded and wish that it had been handled differently. Our sincere hope is that any resolution can happen privately between neighbors.
I also want to address some questions that have come up:
Q: Why did your husband not give the child candy?
I was not present for the interaction. At that point in the night, our family had given out hundreds of candy bars without incident.
I recognize that the act of withholding a candy bar was very hurtful to the child, his friends, and their families. I want to be clear that there was no racial motivation behind this action.
Q: Why did you call the police?
An hour after the original interaction, around 7:30 p.m., Mr. Joshua and Ms. St. Gerard came into our yard and began recording our family. After answering their questions multiple times, we made at least five requests for them to leave our doorstep, they refused, and I made the decision to contact the police.
We hope to move forward with understanding and empathy.
Thank you,
Ashley Donahue
From the Caplan, Donahue & Rishi campaign:
