Authorities say protesters who gathered in front of the suburban Washington home of Senator Josh Hawley were peaceful.
This comes hours after the lawmaker cried that the group threatened his family on FoxNews.
Officers were called to Hawley’s home around 7:30 p.m. Monday about a protest there. They encountered about 10 to 20 protesters, Master Police Officer Juan Vazquez told Fox News.
The gathering was in response to Hawley’s announcement that he would raise objections to the final certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s win.
He claimed the group made threats against his wife and newborn daughter, saying on Twitter,
“Tonight while I was in Missouri, Antifa scumbags came to our place in DC and threatened my wife and newborn daughter, who can’t travel.
They screamed threats, vandalized, and tried to pound open our door. Let me be clear: My family & I will not be intimidated by “leftwing violence.”
Vazquez said,
“Once they explained that – I guess they were not aware of it – they decided to leave. No one was arrested. There was no vandalism that we know of.”
The protesters did violate three laws, Vazquez said:
- protesting in front of a home
- an ordinance banning noise in front of a home
- littering.
ShutDownDC, the group that organized the protest, said it visited Hawley’s home for 40 minutes and chanted, held candles and signs, and sang. In a lo video posted to its Twitter account, the group is seen meeting in a parking lot, then walking to the home.
The group told Fox News in a statement,
“At one point a handful of people walked up the path to the front door of the house to ring the doorbell and invite Hawley to come out and have a conversation.
Senator Hawley’s suggestion that we engaged in vandalism, pounded on his door, or terrorized neighbors is demonstrably false, as are his baseless accusations of voter fraud.”
The group said no one answered the door, so they left a copy of the Constitution and messages on the sidewalk in chalk.
In a series of Twitter posts Tuesday, Hawley claimed the protesters were not “sweet angels” but Antifa members who pounded on his door and “terrorized neighbors.”
Watch.
This aged well. https://t.co/pV3WIa0f4g
— David Gura (@davidgura) January 7, 2021
Tonight while I was in Missouri, Antifa scumbags came to our place in DC and threatened my wife and newborn daughter, who can’t travel. They screamed threats, vandalized, and tried to pound open our door. Let me be clear: My family & I will not be intimidated by leftwing violence
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) January 5, 2021
Josh Hawley, you wanna come for our democracy? We have a bone to pick with you. pic.twitter.com/JW9rbQrJeC
— ShutDownDC (@ShutDown_DC) January 5, 2021
