Va. Republican apologizes for tweet about shooting Harris protesters

A county supervisor from Central Virginia has apologized for a tweet in which he joked about shooting protesters who were arrested Tuesday outside the Capitol Hill office of Baltimore County Republican Rep. Andy Harris, according to a Virginia newspaper. “I didn’t mean it to be a threat to anybody, and it was a stupid joke, and I regret it,” Goochland County supervisor Manuel Alvarez Jr., told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. According to the newspaper, the since-deleted tweet said: “With one reload I can take 34 of them, but my guess is that one will be sufficient.” Alvarez did not immediately respond to an email from The Baltimore Sun on Wednesday. Police arrested two marijuana legalization advocates outside Harris’ office. The congressman said he bruised his wrist during the encounter with the activists. Adam Eidinger, a well-known legalization advocate who helped organize the action on Capitol Hill, said the demonstrators were trying to talk to the congressman. But the congressman’s office said in a statement that the protesters “sought to forcibly enter the office” as Harris entered through a private door, “bruising his wrist as they tried to force the door open.” Alvarez is the county board’s vice chairman. His Twitter page, which has 708 followers, describes him as a “Proud conservative Cuban-American.” tral District under suspicion of being under the influence, police said. A Breathalyzer revealed his blood alcohol level was 0.22. Drivers are considered to be alcohol-impaired when their blood alcohol concentrations are 0.08 grams per deciliter or higher. A police spokesman, T.J. Smith, said Heilman was was cited and charged with DUI-related offenses and suspended immediately. Interim Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle fired Heilman on Wednesday, saying in a statement: “His actions represented a safety issue for himself and the community. I simply won’t tolerate it.”

Grasso retains Schuh’s endorsement despite posts

Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh will continue to endorse County Councilman John Grasso in his bid for a District 32 state Senate seat despite Grasso’s “insensitive and inappropriate” posts on Facebook about Muslims. Schuh’s campaign said Wednesday that Grasso expressed remorse for the posts that came to light a day earlier. The Council on AmericanIslamic Relations called on Grasso Tuesday to resign after refusing to take down posts he shared in September — one saying “One nation under God, Not Allah. America is not a Muslim nation. America is not an Islamic nation. America is a Christian nation,” another a link to a Cambodian website titled “Share if you think President Trump should ban Islam in American Schools.” The group also called on Republicans to denounce him. Schuh’s campaign told The Capital on Wednesday afternoon that the county executive was calling for Grasso to apologize and meet with the Anne Arundel County Muslim Council. When asked if Schuh would retract his endorsement if Grasso didn’t comply, Schuh’s campaign manager said there are no plans to rescind the endorsement. “The County Executive is encouraged that Councilman John Grasso is engaging in dialogue with the Muslim Commu- nity and is apologizing for his insensitive and inappropriate comments,” a campaign statement read.

Woman’s body found in Sandtown-Winchester

Baltimore police are investigating a woman’s death as a homicide after her body was found in a vacant house Wednesday. Around 2:30 p.m., officers were investigating in the 1300 block of N. Fulton Ave. in Sandtown-Winchester when they found the woman’s body, with signs of trauma, in a house. It’s at least the fourth body to be found in a vacant house this year in Baltimore. In August, 29-year-old Tiffany Jones was found by firefighters in a burned vacant house on Seventh Street. Police said she had been abducted after an argument. In June, the body of 17-year-old Devon P. Ireland of Baltimore County was found in a vacant house on Washburn Avenue in Brooklyn. In May, crews found a body while demolishing a vacant house in West Baltimore.