Costello says town hall could have been ‘a death trap.’
Shooting of congressman puts security concerns front and center
When House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana was shot last month on a Virginia baseball field where U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello was supposed to be playing shortstop, “it made me think,” Costello told Digital First Media.
And since then, one of the things it hasmade him think about is security.
In an email toDigital First Media on July 6, Costello, R6thDist., wrote that organizerswho invited him to a February town hall-style meeting “actuallywere creating a potential trap forme so people would be able to shoot at me.”
Costello wrote that “the fake town hall was intended to embarrassme into attending even though they didn’t provide any security considerations.”
Writing “basic security measures are normal, they had none,” Costello added in a subsequent email on July 7, “no question the partisan fake town hall organizers put me in danger and obviously ‘death trap’ is what it could have been.”
The event to which Costello referred was held on Feb. 25 at Phoenixville High School and was organized by Concerned Constituents Action Group. Costello told Digital First Media at the time that he had other commitments and could not attend, but they held it anyway.
It first hit the headlines when the school board was asked to waive the fee to use the building. In March, the board voted 4-4-1 to deny the waiver request.
Wayne resident Claire Witzleben, who responded on behalf of the group to a Digital First Media inquiry about Costello’s security concerns, said it is “ridiculous” to suggest her groupwanted to put Costello in danger.
“If he had responded to our requests, we would have been happy to discuss security concerns with him,” said Witzleben. In April, organizers told the Phoenixville Area School Board they tried at least 35 times to contact Costello through letters, emails and his web site.
Despite the fact that Costello was not at the Feb. 25 event, Witzleben said “we screened people at the town hall aboutwhether theywere constituents of the SixthDistrict and we had local police there.”
Costello responded to questions about security measures in place at an “impromptu” meeting with protestors outside his West Chester office one day before the Phoenixville event by writing: “Security measures in West Chester included pre-registration so that we were able to filter out the few who made threats against me excluded (not to worry, from a diversity of opinion perspective, I’d say 80 percent of the crowd was single payer advocates), and a few sheriff’s deputies.”
After the shooting, the House of Representatives voted unanimously to provide members with an additional $25,000 to pay for additional security. The additional funding is intended to be used to beef up security, including at home-district offices and public appearances, according to the Associated Press.
Ninety minutes after the June 14 shooting, Costello told Digital FirstMedia that as the team’s short-stop, he would have been on the field next to Scalise when the shooting started, but by chance he missed his ride there by just two minutes.
“We’re very happy Congressman Costello missed his rideandwasnot injured,” Witzleben said of the shooting. “In fact, we sent him a card to that effect and urging him to stay safe. It also said we hoped it would convince him to support” more stringent gun control legislation, she said.
She disputed Costello’s assertion the Concerned Constituents Action Group is “partisan,” or is backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in an effort to undermine his chances for re-election.
In February, Costello’s office emailed Digital First Media a copy of a Federal Election Commission complaint filed by resident Ben LaGarde, which states the then-called Costello Constituent Action Group failed to, among other things, register as a political action committeewith the commission and used his name improperly.
The group subsequently changed the name to its current name.
Witzelben said the group has not filed as a political action committee, because they do not meet the legal definition of being one.
“We have no connection to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee andwe don’t raisemoney for candidates,” saidWitzelben. “I buy our posters at a dollar store in Delaware with my own money,” she said with a laugh.
“Ourmembers are Republicans, Democrats, independents, we run the gamut,” Witzelben said.
“We exist independent of who holds the Sixth District seat. Our goal is to have our voice heard by whomever holds that seat in Congress,” Witzelben said. “Congressman Costello doesn’t need to be scared of us.”
The Federal Elections Commission confirmed Wednesday that a complaint has been filed against the Concerned Constituents Action Group.
Digital First Media was informed it is FEC policy not tocomment further complaints or investigations until the commission votes and, within 30 days, the results of that vote are posted on the agency web site.