Sussex County, N.J., Republican chair Joseph Labarbera disputes road rage allegations

A New Jersey Republican county chair has been charged with pointing a weapon at another driver in what state police call a road rage incident. 

Sussex County Republican Chair Joseph Labarbera spent two nights in a county jail ahead of a hearing. He faces four charges, including fourth-degree aggravated assault by pointing a firearm, second-degree possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, fourth-degree unjustified display of a firearm, and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child. 

The war veteran is now telling CBS News New York's Christine Sloan he's innocent. He shared his side of the story after being charged with pointing a gun at another driver on Millbrook Road in Stillwater Township, New Jersey, Saturday.

"Did you, at any point, pull your weapon and point it at this man?" Sloan asked. 

"No ma'am, no ma'am. That is not what I do," he said. 

Labarbera, a decorated war veteran, said he pulled over to help the driver who had stopped and had hazard lights on. 

"I rolled down the passenger side window. I am in the car, like this, like, 'Hey, you all right?' And then he unloads on me with curses and insults," Labarbera said. 

Labarbera claims the man, who police said had a child in his vehicle, threatened him. 

"It sounded like 'I am going to shoot you' or 'you are going to get shot,'" Labarbera said.

Labarbera, a concealed carry holder, says that's when he secured his weapon. 

"Look at him and say, 'Sir, I am armed.' When he saw me do this, 'cause I pulled it out to secure the weapon, the weapon was like this, the muzzle was in the holster," Labarbera said. 

Labarbera said he then called police, who arrested him down the road at a restaurant. 

"I took the weapon, I popped it and put it in my console. Then I closed my console," Labarbera said. 

The other driver, whose name is redacted in police reports, says Labarbera was tailgating him, forced him over, began yelling and pointing the weapon. The man even described the make and model of Labarbera's weapon, which the county chair says is a common concealed carry. 

"Did you know there was a child in the car?" Sloan asked. 

"No. The windows were tinted," Labarbera said. 

"Do you think at any point you may have misheard him?" Sloan asked.

"I don't think so," Labarbera said. 

"Do you think he panicked because he thought you were going to shoot him?" Sloan asked. 

"I don't think so," he said. 

State police called it a road rage incident, but Labarbera's attorney Patrick Toscano Jr. said he's not guilty. 

"The entire story is both bizarre and absurd," Toscano said.   

Labarbera said he's been suspended with pay from his day job, but says he has no intentions of resigning as county chair. 

Several members of his own party have asked him to take a leave of absence to focus on his case.