Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) has lashed out at protesters who gathered outside his Washington, DC residence, saying the demonstrators threatened his family, but he will not be “intimidated by leftwing violence.”
“Tonight while I was in Missouri, Antifa scumbags came to our place in DC and threatened my wife and newborn daughter, who can’t travel,” the senator tweeted on Monday night.
Hawley accused those who gathered outside his home of screaming threats, vandalizing property, and attempting to break into the house.
“Let me be clear: My family & I will not be intimidated by leftwing violence,” he wrote.
Tonight while I was in Missouri, Antifa scumbags came to our place in DC and threatened my wife and newborn daughter, who can’t travel. They screamed threats, vandalized, and tried to pound open our door. Let me be clear: My family & I will not be intimidated by leftwing violence
Hawley was targeted over his plan to object to Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, which is set to take place on Wednesday. President Donald Trump continues to refuse to concede the election and accuse Biden and Democrats of voter fraud.
ShutDownDC, the liberal activist group behind the Hawley protest, responded to the senator’s claims on Tuesday by blasting him as a “snowflake” and describing the protest outside his home as a “candlelight vigil.”
“It was a candlelight vigil, snowflake. And your house isn’t in DC, it’s in a suburb 30 mins outside of the District. You’re supposed to be representing Missouri in the senate. Why did you move your primary residence to the Virginia suburbs,” the group tweeted.
It was a candlelight vigil, snowflake. And your house isn’t in DC, it’s in a suburb 30 mins outside of the District. You’re supposed to be representing Missouri in the senate. Why did you move your primary residence to the Virginia suburbs. https://t.co/nMOwj3Z6kU
The group also objected to Hawley’s use of “Antifa.” They didn’t deny being part of the increasingly violent left-wing group, but rather questioned whether the senator was “anti-fascist.”
We’ve gotten some media inquiries about Senator Josh Hawley’s tweets about us… 1. We are absolutely and unapologetically anti-fascists. We are perplexed that someone would use that in the pejorative and we certainly would hope that Senator Hawley also opposes fascism. https://t.co/qtCvM05sdx
3. It’s disappointing that Senator Hawley, an member of what presents itself as the greatest deliberative body in the world, would resort to calling us ‘scumbags’. But if he must. We’re happy to call him a snowflake.
Video from the demonstration shows protesters using megaphones to shout slogans outside Hawley’s home, and several of them walking up to the front steps and ringing the doorbell.
They also harass Hawley’s neighbors at one point and threaten to return to the senator’s home the following night, accusing the lawmaker of “holding democracy hostage.”
Bulls**t!This was no candlelight vigil, this was an attempt to terrorize @HawleyMO’s family, his wife & kids, and neighbors, you made that very clear. This is what those leftist socialist anarchists want to do to this country, tomorrow Georgia gets a chance to reject them! https://t.co/9SQxe6bHlGpic.twitter.com/MBTsBRIeSf
Protests by both liberals and conservatives outside of lawmakers’ homes have become increasingly frequent in recent months. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) was targeted by pro-Trump protesters who gathered outside his Florida home this week to urge him to join Hawley in objecting to the certification of Biden’s presidential victory.
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