A man who self-described as a supporter of President Donald Trump walked into the Democratic headquarters in Washington state, started a fire, and threatened to blow up the place, the Washington Post reported Thursday, citing local officials.
“This is the first time in my memory of the party that there’s been such a credible threat that has been carried out,” said Nicole Bishop chair of the Spokane County Democrats.
Two senior volunteers were working inside the Spokane County Democrats office Wednesday morning when a man walked in and handed them a piece of paper. Then, he said he was ready to blow up the office.
According to the report, the incident began around 11 a.m. Wednesday at the office in Spokane, Washington, when the man, who wore a mask and carried a large backpack, knocked on the organization’s door, which was locked. One of the women working in the reception area cracked the door open.
The man pushed inside the office before taking out a piece of paper from a plastic box inside his backpack, according to the report. This was his manifesto, he announced. He asked the woman to spread it on social media and demanded to speak to the leader of the party, she added.
Then, he said, “And also, I don’t want to hurt anybody, but I do have a bomb,” while holding out a small box that had wires connected to his backpack, Bishop told The Post.
When the police arrived, Bishop said, they found a fire inside the office that appears to have been started by the man after everyone else had escaped. Police later arrested the man, who walked out of the office on his own, according to the report.
The incident comes after elected officials in at least seven states have warned about the threat of escalating violence as President Trump attempts to overturn the election results with baseless fraud claims defeated in multiple states.
