A New Jersey judge is being looked into for posting videos of himself on TikTok lip-syncing to songs that contained racial slurs, explicit sexual references, and profanity.
According to the state's Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, Judge Gary Wilcox can also be seen in some videos wearing his judicial robes.
The judge is accused of acting in a way that was "inappropriate and brought disrepute to the Judiciary," according to the complaint.
The complaint is being studied by his attorney.
Judge Wilcox of the Superior Court, who has been licensed to practice law in the state since 1989, allegedly uploaded the obscene video to TikTok using the alias "Sal Tortorella.".
The allegedly 100-follower account appears to have been deleted by the platform in the intervening time.
Videos of him in his judicial robes and half-dressed while lying in bed are among those cited in the complaint.
The song Get Down by Nas, which is based on the trial of two black men, is playing in the background as the 59-year-old man wears a Beavis and Butthead t-shirt and strolls through the courthouse in another post.
Two additional posts that were singled out in the complaint depict the judge in his chambers while singing Sure Thing by Miguel and mouthing the explicit lyrics to Jump by Rihanna.
Another image shows the judge in a suit lip-syncing to an unknown song while standing behind his law books, saying: "You think you can run up on me and whip my monkey [expletive]? Come on. "Get going!".
According to the complaint, "Judge Wilcox's conduct in posting these and related videos to TikTok exhibited poor judgment, demonstrated disrespect for the Judiciary, and an inability to conform to the high standards of conduct expected of judges.".
It continues by alleging at least three transgressions of the state's judicial conduct code.
Robert Hille, the lawyer for Judge Wilcox, declined to comment right away for the BBC but stated to the New York Times: "I don't think that at the end of the day anyone is going to believe there was any desire to do any harm here. ".
He added, "These are mainstream artists. "This is music that is available to the general public. And it is obvious that depending on who is listening, it elicits a different response. ".
According to his attorney, he is studying the complaint and will submit a response.
The Advisory Committee may decide to dismiss the complaint, discipline the judge in private or in public, or bring formal charges against him while an investigation is ongoing. Censure and dismissal from the bench are examples of forms of punishment.
