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Gay Activists Attack Manassas GOP HQ
By Greg L | 19 October 2006 | Manassas City, 50th HOD District | 27 Comments
BREAKING…
I’ve received word that the Manassas GOP Headquarters was vandalized twice this evening and that about 20 signs for Jackson Miller and the proposed Marriage Amendment were destroyed or vandalized. The signs were destroyed or defaced with such statements as “Homosexuality is not wrong”, “F*ck Patriotism” and slanders against Jackson Miller. The police have been alerted and will investigate shortly.
At the time of the second attack there was a meeting of the Bull Run Republican Women’s Club. I have not received word about any possible witnesses to these attacks.
I’m pretty disappointed in the political tactics used by some homosexual activists, but having seen indefensible behavior by homosexual political activists before I have to temper my surprise that this could have occurred.
Stay tuned for updates…
UPDATE #1: Here are some of the photos taken of the attack:
UPDATE #2: A member of the Bull Run Republican Women’s Club provided this report:
I just got home from the Bull Run Republican Women’s meeting at the Manassas GOP H.Q. Someone has taken, torn up, and has written profanities on most of the sign’s that were out front. I don’t mean to offend but here is what was written on the sign’s; F*ck patriotism! Homosexuality is great! which was written on the marriage amendment sign.These people were brazen! They did all of this with the sign’s while we had our meeting. Looks like someone is getting worried!
Also, the headline for this post has been changed, since there’s no convincing evidence that those who perpetuated this attack were actually homosexuals. “Gay Activists Attack Manassas GOP HQ” is more accurate given what is known at this time.
UPDATE #3: The Manassas Republican Party has released the following statement in response to this attack:
Steven Thomas, Chairman of the Manassas Republican Party, is calling on the Democratic Party and their campaigns to condemn the recent acts of vandalism that occurred at the Manassas Republican Headquarters. On Thursday night while meetings were occurring inside the building, over twenty Republican candidates’ signs were destroyed or defaced. Vandals used profanity to express their opposition to the Republican candidates’ positions, as well as to the proposed marriage amendment.
“We had hoped that the battle of ideas and issues would be settled through debate and at the ballot box. Vandals trespassed onto private property and have committed a criminal act. The destruction and profane defacement of our candidates’ campaign signs reflect very poorly on the opposition, and brings discredit to the Democratic Party. As Chairman of the Manassas Republican Party, I call on the Democratic Party and the Rishell and Webb campaigns, along with the Commonwealth Coalition to condemn these reprehensible acts and to assure the voters that these acts were not perpetrated by persons associated with the Democratic Party, or the individual democratic candidate’s campaigns. This matter has been referred to local law enforcement and if the perpetrators are apprehended we will press charges.” said Thomas.
I have also been advised that there is interest in establishing a reward for information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. More to come…
UPDATE #4: This comes from someone who was volunteering at headquarters yesterday:
Allen signs were also defaced, but we didn’t realize this until the police officer started to collect the evidence. the vandals wrote “F*ck Him” and “Don’t vote for a bigot”. Signs were disappearing all afternoon, in broad daylight. Every time I would leave the HQ to head south on Church Street, I would notice signs missing. I’d call the HQ, and they would replace them. We suspect that between 7pm and 9pm, the vandals returned and dumped the defaced signs in front of Miller’s 4×8, as seen in the pictures.
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That’s right across the street from the Bull Run Universalist Church, which I think is Rishell’s church, and has a big “vote no” banner hanging on their church’s outside wall.
BTW, I don’t think you can say that “gays” attacked the building. You only know that people attacked the building, and that they seem to be opposed to the marriage amendment, are vandals, and use foul language.
There are a lot of non-gay people who would fit that description.
So, without a shred of evidence Charles, you sldner a Church for having a Vote No sign. Yes, they must have been behind it — at least that is what you are implying. You know Charles, I don ‘t like your politics, but you seem like a fair guy. Obviously destruction of property is wrong and I’m as mad about it as you are. Several years ago, several signs posted on my fence for Rosemary Lynch, who was running for State Senate against Jay O’Brien, were faced, with male genitalia spray painted on them and the word “Lesbian” written. They also dropped some O’Brien literature, so my accusation that they were O’Brien supporters is not unfounded. As upset as I was with that, I didn’t assume that any responsible legitimate political activist was behind it. In this case, you ought not to be implying that Ms. Rishell or her Church are responsible for this attack. I hope you aren’t becasue it would disappoint me greatly if you were. I hope that whoever damaged the Republican signs is caught and punished, whoever they are. One thing we ought to agree on is that property shouldn’t be damaged.
Ok Charles, you beat me to the punch. You have made the key distinction, people, vandals in this case, attacked the church. Doesn’t matter if they are gay and straight. My faith in your fairness, if not your wisdom on politics, is restored.
Mistake above, I meant the headquarters of the Republican party, not the Church.
This isn’t the first time. On the early morning of election day, 2004, GOP volunteers showed up at 4am, to collect their materials for working the polling places. The entire front of the GOP HQ was covered in 8″ x 11″ paper, taped together. Each page had the same cartoon of a “dandy fellow” with a hand & arm covering the figure’s mouth. The arm had “GOP” written on it, and the caption “shut up Fag and get to the back of the bus!”.
This just demonstrates what the other side is capable of. They know they can’t win in at the ballot box. They will fail. They will lose.
Does Greg Bouchillon have an alibi for this evening?
I’m sure that question will be asked by someone, although we should be careful not to implicate him without any evidence. It’s important to note that there absolutely is no evidence of his involvement in this at all.
Well, in keeping with this campaign staying to the high road, I should think that Mrs. Rishell would be quick to condemn such actions. I’ll be curious to see what morning brings.
What do you expect from liberals? Do you really think they have the brains to debate the issues without having to resort to to such tactics.
Just like the liberals who scream freedom of speech, and then proceed to disrupt Conservatives who are attempting to speak on college campuses.
GOP HQ should put out a call for armed volunteers to protect the building. I will gladly give up a couple of hours to do that.
There is no evidence to suggest who are the perpetrators here. Recently, there was a claim of racial harassment in rural Virginia that turned out to be the action of the wife of the couple against whom the “racial” attack was alleged to have been made. For all we know, these actions were the acts of someone from va4marriage trying to create sympathy or produce energy for their side. Given the rapidly decaying support for their position, this would seem at least as plausible as the claim that “homosexual” or gay activists did something that would cast their campaign in a bad light.
So, before you try, indict or shoot on sight those whom you claim did this … perhaps you should get some evidence ….
Anon,
You are correct that it could have been an inside job, and if that is the case, that is pretty sad. I find it funny though how most of the fake “hate crimes” are not conservatives attacking their own, but liberals doing it.
But, if it does turn out to be your side doing it, I sure hope you will take them to task.
Even the COMpost admitted the amendment has the support of the majority in the Virginia. What does that say? I think the only side worried about it is your side.
Oh, this is great. Let’s start blaming the victims. How ridiculous can those who apologize for the homosexual agenda get these days? Oh, wait. I know.
Great, you guys have gone hateful again. I am disappointed. Not that the people who did shouldn’t be prosecuted, they absolutely should. I think the Greg B. comment was a joke - if not, that was a huge reach.
“These people were brazen! They did all of this with the sign’s while we had our meeting. Looks like someone is getting worried!”
What? Worried about losing? This is Prince William County. This is Virginia. This place is conservative if nothing else. There is no way that amendment will lose. What do people expect? If living liberal were that important to me, I’d move to Virginia. But I live here and I know my community and I have to respect that we don’t always think the same things.
“What do you expect from liberals? Do you really think they have the brains to debate the issues without having to resort to to such tactics.”
There is a comment that is going to foster bipartisan relationships post election. Should all non-conservatives leave Virginia? That’s just ugly. Not to say that there aren’t plenty of Dems saying the same thing somewhere, but I am disappointed when I see it on Greg’s board, because I have come to respect his thoughts (even if I don’t agree with all of them) and it diminishes this place.
I am sorry that someone felt the need to do this. I am not sure the other side wishes to claim me since I am voting for Frank Wolf and I thought Jackson was nice when I met him. If you wish to see it as an apology from “the other side,” go ahead. But I think this sort of hate has no place on either side of the aisle. It is disappointing to see. When stuff like this happens, it deepens the political divide in this community.
Uh, I think the “gay activists are all too busy phone banking and canvassing to have time to deface a few signs at the GOP HQ. Sounds more like some bored kids out for an early Halloween prank. If I was really cynical, I’d almost think this was a Karl Rove-like attempt by the PW GOP to create a fairy tale. Pun intended. I mean, this is the home of Bob Marshall, no?
And it is also home to lots of brain drained liberals. While liberals like to talk about peace and non violence, they do exactly the opposite when things are not going their way.
Greg,
How about this? We have a campaign in the 50th
and I get the “Patriot Vote” and you get the “F*ck
Patriotism Vote” - guess who wins? Big. So, what
is the motive for outside “evildoers” to write such a thing?
Please.
My guess is this will turn out to be the work
of an over zealous GOPer attempting to “rouse
the base” and gain some sympathy.
Also, can you actually imagine so-called “gay activists” using the phrase “Homosexuality is not wrong!” It’s like something from one of those terribly earnest soap-opera comic strips. My guess is it was either some really outraged kids, or an inside job. Both are equally plausible.
Where we can all agree is that this is not the work of responsible adults. Your attempt to smear your political opponents with this nonsense is both sleazy and transparent.
This is a bulletin that I distributed to the press this morning.
While we don’t always agree on policy, the Democratic and Republican parties are united in opposition to vandalism as a method of political speech. The vandalism that occurred last evening at the Manassas GOP HQ is disgusting and completely inappropriate.
No political campaign or party should ever tolerate this kind of behavior and we sincerely hope those who perpetrated this crime are caught and brought to justice.
While this is a horrible crime, we are extremely disappointed in Mr. Thomas’ statement subtly accusing the Democratic Party and the Rishell campaign of being involved in this crime. Mr. Thomas stated, ” The destruction and profane defacement of our candidates’ campaign signs reflect very poorly on the opposition, and brings discredit to the Democratic Party.” If Mr. Thomas has any evidence that a Democratic Party operative or member of a specific campaign was involved in this crime, we call on him to release it immediately. Otherwise, Mr. Thomas should refrain from making accusations without having evidence to back up his charges.
The Rishell campaign condemns the vandalism that occurred last evening and we hope that the Miller campaign will join us in remaining focused on the issues, conducting ourselves with the highest of ethical principles, and maintaining respect for each other and the voters of the 50 th district as we conclude this election cycle.
Big Dog,
Republicans don’t do this sort of thing. We don’t have to. We write letters to the editor. We hold press confrences. We are leading all races in Manassas, and the Marriage Ammendment will pass in Manassas. What these people did was attempt to intimidate the Manassas Republicans, and surpress voter turn-out. A lame attempt, yes, but the intentions of the criminals were clear.
My guess is that the recent WaPo article about the man who wants to run a massasge therapy business out of his home, who hasn’t had his permit approved, and who happens to be gay, has inflamed some of the extreme elements of the democratic party. You can see it in the hateful messages they wrote. One thing to steal signs, and another to destroy them. But to write such things is hateful, period.
Look at the cases in 2004, where Democrats in several states were caught slashing tires on Republican GOTV vehichles, intended to tranport voters to the polls. Look at the AFL-CIO storming Republican HQ’s in a few cities, intimidating GOP volunteers and people wishing to enter the buildings. Documented cases of haters doing hateful things.
Where are the cases of Republicans doing this? I haven’t heard of any.
Mr. Belfrey,
Does the word “Watergate” ring a bell?
Big Dog,
Do the words ” 12-step program” mean anything to you?
Mr. Belfrey,
Is that the best you can reply - anyone
who doesn’t buy your dogma needs a “12-step
program”?
Neither major political party has a lock
on virtue. If the Dems had signs vandalized, we
would ask the same questions.
“Trust, but verify”
Anybody who believes that Democratic party signs don’t ever get vandalized is living in a fantasy world. The fact of the matter was that I had signs posted on my private property vandalized in October 2002. Obscene images and words, implying that a particular Democratic candidate was a lesbian, and depicting male genitalia, were left, along with literature for her Repubican opponent.
I had a letter published in the Potomac News decrying this incident, carefully noting that I did not think any responsible Republican activist had anything to do with it, but condemning the vandals who did it. Obviously, a vandal might think of themselves as a political activist, but they aren’t, what ever side they claim to act for. I never heard any Republican official condeming the vandalism that was carried out on my personal property. I never really asked for that, since I assumed that this action had nothing to do with real Republicans and would not expect them to apologize for something they did not do. I would think that Mr. Batson Belfrey would be able to distinquish between actual politicial activists and vandals, but apparently such a distinction is too nuanced for him and partisan hysteria is more intersting. I note that the Rishell campaign has already condemned this action, and would hope somebody would take favorable notice of that fact.
Oddly enough, in that same campaign, Jay O’Brien accused a member of the Brentsville Democratic Committee, not some kid, but a man in his mid 50s who is one of the founding members of the Buckhall volunteer Fire Department, of stealing O’Brien signs from the Buckhall polling It turns out that the O’Brien campaign had never put up signs. Bob Marshall, to his credit, got Jay O’Brien to come back to Buckhall to apologize to the person who had been falsely accused.
The whole point of these stories is to indicate that those of us who are real political activists, even if we are on different sides, should clearly distinquish between ourselves, we don’t destroy property, and those that do. If we can’t do that, can we be surprised if the general public comes to think of us all as having the mentality of immature grade school students.
Both of you, Republican and Democratic commenters should be ashamed of yourselves…and I’m not referring to the campaigns, who seem to be sincerely trying to keep to the high ground! You can speculate all you like as to “who done it” but the fact is, you don’t know and it’s highly unlikely that it was anyone associated with either campaign, as aptly stated by Matt Harrison. Speaking of whom, I’d like to thank him for validating my comment from last night (11:23 PM) that Mrs. Rishell would be as quick to condemn such activities as Mr. Miller would be. Don’t start sinking into the same quaqmire into which the Senate campaign has sunk!
I see anon figured out what I was saying, but just to be clear I wasn’t blaming the church. My point which I made poorly was that right across from this building was a building with a huge sign and also some picket signs on the ground.
I presume that they were untouched, which does suggest that the vandals weren’t just randomly attacking signs, but had a specific motive to attack republican signs.
Then there’s the guy getting fired from his job for parking his truck in a PUBLIC STREET with “vote yes” signs in his car, because there were other workers who were “offended” that he supported a constitutional amendment.
If we can get our co-workers fired for their political positions, we are going to have a rough couple of weeks here….
Greg,
I’ll donate $50 to a reward-fund. Are you heading this up?