David and I have been writing a lot about the violence that already has and will continue to occur because of the extremist nature of the tea party movement. The MSM seems to be afraid to point this out except to characterize it as isolated incidents. Don't they seem to happen all the time? How many have to happen before they're no longer isolated?
Steny Hoyer is on MSNBC giving a presser with Clyburn saying that they are fearful for their safety and other members should notify security. Chuck Todd tweets:
House Maj. Leader Hoyer says he's worried about the security of fellow House Dems; Calls on House GOP leaders to join in decrying threats.
Law enforcement authorities are investigating the discovery of a cut propane gas line at the Virginia home of Rep. Tom Perriello’s (D-Va.) brother, whose address was targeted by tea party activists angry at the congressman’s vote for the health care bill.
An aide to the congressman confirmed to POLITICO that a line to a propane tank behind his brother's home near Charlottesville had been sliced.
The FBI would not disclose the details of the incident, but said that they have been to the home.
“This is very preliminary at this point, so we’re not making any comment at this time,” local FBI spokesman M.A. Myers told POLITICO.
Lee Catlin, community relations director for the Albemarle County Fire Marshal, said in a statement to POLITICO that the office is “investigating a suspicious incident” at the home of the congressman’s brother. “The Fire Marshal’s Office is conducting the investigation in cooperation with the FBI,” Catlin said. “While officials are not willing to characterize the exact nature of the incident because of the ongoing investigation, it did not involve an immediate threat to occupants of the residence. However officials are taking the incident very seriously and conducting a vigorous investigation,” the statement said.
POLITICO reported on Monday that Mike Troxel, an organizer for the Lynchburg Tea Party, posted on his blog what he thought was the congressman’s address, encouraging tea party activists to “drop by...read on
A tea party activist targeted Perriello yesterday, got his name wrong and today we have a gas line cut.
As Digby wrote yesterday:
I would imagine there will be more of this. I'm just surprised they didn't do it before the vote:
A tea party organizer angry over Rep. Thomas Perriello’s (D-Va.) vote in favor of health care reform published what he thought was the freshman member’s home address on a blog, in case any readers “want to drop by” and provide a “personal touch” to their views.
Basic intimidation, obviously. I'd imagine that some of them might even want to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights.
UPDATE: mcjoan has more:
Update: The "shocked" and "speechless" Nigel Coleman is the same one who said:
When Coleman learned the address was actually Perriello’s brother’s — Politico reported he and his wife have four young children — Coleman commented on another blog that the mistake was "collateral damage."
"Do you mean I posted his brother’s address on my Facebook?" Coleman wrote. "Oh well, collateral damage."
Yeah, nothing violent in that.
UPDATE 2: Perriello has released the following statement:
“My number one priority right now is ensuring the safety of my brother’s family, and I am grateful to law enforcement for their excellent work. While it is too early to say anything definitive regarding political motivations behind this act, it’s never too early for political leaders to condemn threats of violence, particularly as threats to other Members of Congress and their children escalate. And so I ask every member of House and Senate leadership to state unequivocally tonight that it is never OK to harm or threaten elected officials and their families with anything more than political retribution. Here in America, we settle our political differences at the ballot box.”
