Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Bomb suspect doesn’t represent South Florida, Rep. Wasserman Schultz said.
Bomb suspect doesn’t represent character of South Florida, she said
During a sometimes emotional appearance Friday, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said society would not be intimidated and she would not be humbled by the series of suspicious packages that sent to a range of public figures, including her office in Sunrise.
Wasserman Schultz wouldn’t speculate about the motive of the person who mailed the packages. “It’s very difficult to know [why] someone who is clearly insane and who was that much of a madman … could do this, it’s impossible to ascribe motives. It’s sinister and evil,” she said.
She said the “bastard” who sent the packages would be brought to justice.
Wasserman Schultz’s office was listed as the return address for the pipe bombs shipped around the country. The one that arrived in Sunrise was sent there because it could not be delivered.
She spoke to a phalanx of reporters after she voted early in Hollywood, and before a suspect had been arrested in South Florida. Wasserman Schultz said it was “sickening” and “gut wrenching” to think that the perpetrator could be from the area.
After the arrest, she issued a written statement that he “in no way represents the character of our community or what we stand for.”
As Wasserman answered questions from reporters for about 15 minutes outside the Hollywood Branch Library early voting site, police were present, though she declined to say if security has been enhanced for her or her offices since the package was received.
On Thursday, she was with the Democratic gubernatorial nominee at a Plantation synagogue and on Wednesday night she was at the gubernatorial debate in Davie — both at events that had high levels of security in place even before the suspicious packages began arriving.
Her appearance Friday attracted an enormous media contingent — including 11 video cameras from a range of media outlets. She hasn’t received such intense attention since her days as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee
Wasserman Schultz’s voice and appearance was emotional as she described knowing her office received the package. “Obviously, when you have a suspicious package come to your office and you have staff who has handled it and you realize there is potential danger, it’s frightening. It’s frightening, nightmarish.”
The congresswoman didn’t bring it up on Friday, but she has seen the devastation caused by violence directed toward public officials. One of her closest friends, then-U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, DAriz., was left with a severe brain injury after a Jan. 8, 2011, assassination attempt in which six people were killed and 13 wounded. Wasserman Schultz was in the hospital room a few days later when Giffords opened her eyes.
She said she had no idea why her name and office was the return address on the packages. “Obviously, it’s devastating, deeply disturbing to have my name used in that way,” she said. “It’s disturbing, troubling, sinister.”
“We are not going to be knocked down by violence, and by vitriol and by venom. Never are we going to allow violence, vitriol and venom to knock us down,” she said.
Wasserman Schultz, who has been a sharp critic of President Donald Trump — and who has been harshly criticized by the president — was somewhat more muted on Friday when asked about the impact of his sometimes incendiary rhetoric.
“We’re all responsible for making sure that we act and speak civilly, that we keep the volume down,” she said. “When you raise the temperature, when you whip people into a frenzy, when you carelessly not think about what the impact of your words, particularly at the highest level of office in this country, then you are acting grossly irresponsibly.”
Politics wasn’t missing from Friday’s event. Wasserman Schultz was joined in voting by several Democratic elected officials, including Broward Mayor Beam Furr and School Board member Robin Bartleman.
Outside, she was surrounded by volunteers for her campaign and other Democratic candidates. She urged people to vote for Andrew Gillum for governor and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., for re-election.
“We’re Democrats. And it’s Democrats that are going to make sure that we can re-establish some sanity and some balance and some unity to the way decisions are made in this country and in the state of Florida,” she said.
One of her election opponents, no party affiliation candidate Tim Canova, showed up as well. He complained that Wasserman Schultz has declined to debate him.