Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Vandals hit lawmakers’ homes

McConnell, Pelosi targeted after $2,000 relief proposal stalls

- Informatio­n for this article was contribute­d by Timothy D. Easley and Travis Loller of The Associated Press and by Allyson Waller of The New York Times. COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Vandals lashed out at the leaders of the U.S. House and Senate over the holiday weekend, defacing their homes with graffiti and in one case a pig’s head as Congress failed to approve an increase in the amount of money being sent to individual­s to help cope with the coronaviru­s pandemic.

Spray paint on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s door in Louisville on Saturday read, “WERES MY MONEY.” “MITCH KILLS THE POOR” was scrawled over a window. A profanity directed at the Republican senator was painted under the mailbox.

At the San Francisco home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., someone spray-painted graffiti and left a pig’s head and fake blood on New Year’s Day, police said. The vandalism was reported about 2 a.m. Friday, according to a police statement, and a special investigat­ions unit is trying to determine who did it.

KGO-TV reported that graffiti found on the garage door of the Democratic leader’s home included the phrases “$2K,” “Cancel rent!” and “We want everything,” apparently referencin­g Democratic lawmakers’ failed efforts to increase the coronaviru­s relief checks from $600 to $2,000.

The news station says security cameras surround the three-story brick home in the Pacific Heights neighborho­od.

In a statement on Saturday, McConnell, R-Ky., lamented what he called a “radical tantrum” drawn from a “toxic playbook.”

“I’ve spent my career fighting for the First Amendment and defending peaceful protest,” he stated. “I appreciate every Kentuckian who has engaged in the democratic process whether they agree with me or not. This is different. Vandalism and the politics of fear have no place in our society.”

McConnell said he and his wife are not intimidate­d by the vandalism. “We just hope our neighbors in Louisville aren’t too inconvenie­nced by this radical tantrum.”

Louisville police are investigat­ing the incident at McConnell’s home, which occurred around 5 a.m. Saturday. There currently are no suspects, police spokespers­on Dwight Mitchell said in an email.

The speaker’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

On New Year’s Day, McConnell blocked an effort to increase stimulus checks to $2,000 from $600 after the House voted Monday to bump the size of payments. The proposed increase was part of a list of demands from Trump that included investigat­ing his baseless claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election and repealing certain legal protection­s for tech giants such as Facebook, Google and Twitter.

McConnell said Tuesday that the Senate would “begin a process” to consider bigger payments along with Trump’s other demands.

Before the House’s vote on Monday, Pelosi said in a statement that to vote against the increase in stimulus payments “is to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny them the relief they need.”

Last Sunday, McConnell applauded Trump’s signing of the new stimulus bill in a statement posted to Twitter.

“The compromise bill is not perfect,” he said. “But it will do an enormous amount of good for struggling Kentuckian­s and Americans across the country who need help now.”

The government has begun sending out the smaller payments to millions of Americans. The $600 payment is going to individual­s with incomes up to $75,000. Congress approved the payment in late December.

 ?? (AP/Timothy D. Easley) ?? Graffiti reading “where’s my money” is painted on a door Saturday at the Louisville, Ky., home of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
(AP/Timothy D. Easley) Graffiti reading “where’s my money” is painted on a door Saturday at the Louisville, Ky., home of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States