Maine secretary of state’s home targeted

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on Saturday said her home was the target of a swatting call and she has received threats since her ruling Thursday that Donald Trump is ineligible to appear on the state’s ballot in the Republican primary in 2024.

“This behavior is unacceptable. The non-stop threatening communications the people who work for me endured all day yesterday is unacceptable,” Bellows, a Democrat, wrote on Facebook Saturday afternoon. “It’s designed to scare not only me but also others into silence, to send a message.”

The Maine Department of Public Safety issued a statement Saturday confirming the swatting call.

At approximately 8:15 p.m. Friday, first responders at Augusta Regional Communication Center received a call from an unknown man who told them he had broken into a home on Kerns Hill Road in Manchester, according to the statement.

Troopers responded to the residence and checked the outside of the home as well as conducted an interior sweep of the home at Bellows’s request, but did not find anything suspicious.

In her post, Bellows thanked people for their concern and support.

“Thank you for the messages of love and support. I’ve been moved by every one and especially by those from friends and loved ones who disagree with my decision but have reached out to express love and respect,” she wrote.

According to the post, Bellows and her husband Brandon Baldwin were away for the holiday weekend when the incident took place. She said their address was posted online.

The incident is currently under investigation.

Her decision to remove Trump from the presidential primary ballot on Friday cited Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits anyone who swore an oath to support the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” against it from holding office.

Several states are weighing whether Trump violated that provision when a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Bellows has said that her ruling is suspended, pending an expected appeal by Trump in the Maine State Superior Court.

Maria Elena Little Endara can be reached at mariaelena.littleendara@globe.com.