U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has confirmed the Justice Department is reviewing the New York City Police Department’s widespread surveillance of Muslims in the northeastern United States. Testifying before a Senate panel, Holder said he was disturbed by reports of the spying outside of New York City, which included the monitoring of mosques and Islamic student groups in neighboring New Jersey.

Eric Holder: “There are various components within the Justice Department that are actively looking at these matters. I talked to Governor Christie, actually. I saw him at a reception, I guess a couple days or so ago, and he expressed to me the concerns that he had. He has now publicly expressed his concerns as only he can. And I think at least what I’ve read publicly, and again, just what I’ve read in the newspapers, is disturbing, and these are things that are under review at the Justice Department.”

Holder’s remarks follow strong criticism of the NYPD by the top FBI agent in New Jersey, who said NYPD monitoring in the state had damaged relations between law enforcement and Muslims.