Hawley says Virginia home vandalized, family terrorized by antifa group

The Northern Virginia residence of Missouri’s junior U.S. senator was vandalized Monday night while his wife and youngest child were home, according to Sen. Josh Hawley.

Hawley shared on social media late Monday that while he was in Missouri, his wife and daughter, unable to travel, were threatened by a group of protesters.

“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,” Hawley wrote. “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.”

A group known as ShutDownDC took credit for the protest, calling their effort a “candlelight vigil.” Demonstrators told The Washington Post they did not vandalize or knock on Hawley’s door.

Hawley responded to the Washington Post’s story on social media saying, “@washingtonpost this morning printing outright lies from the Antifa group who now describe themselves as sweet angels. BS. You screamed through bullhorns, shouted down my wife when she asked you to leave, vandalized property, pounded on our door, and terrorized neighbors.

“And didn’t have the guts to do it in daylight, but only under the cover of darkness so you could hide. You’re scum. And we won’t be intimidated.”

The Associated Press reported the protesters were peaceful and left when police explained they were violating local picketing laws, police said Tuesday.

Officers were called to Hawley’s home around 7:45 p.m. after someone reported there were “people protesting in front of the house.” Officers who responded to the scene found the “people were peaceful,” master police officer Juan Vazquez, a spokesman for the Town of Vienna Police Department, told The Associated Press.

A spokeswoman for Hawley said the senator and his family were grateful for the support of law enforcement, and said demonstrators did not leave until police showed up.

“In fact, when Erin, Josh’s wife, asked them to leave, they instead screamed threats through blow horns at Erin, a newborn baby and their neighbors, and then they followed up by stepping onto their porch to pound on the front door and peer inside the house at Erin,” Kelli Ford told the AP.

ShutdownDC posted a nearly hour-long video showing about a dozen protesters arriving at Hawley’s home, chanting and shouting through a megaphone, walking up to his doorstep, waving signs and writing on the sidewalk with chalk.

The video shows the group meeting in a nearby parking lot, discussing how they plan to protest and chant in front of his home and then shows them walking about two blocks to his home. Outside the home, they lit candles, chanted through megaphones and held signs reading, “Respect the votes. Trump lost!” and “You don’t have the votes!”

Hawley, 41, was the first senator to state his intention to object during today’s certification of the Electoral College vote in this year’s presidential election.

“I cannot vote to certify the electoral college results on Jan. 6 without raising the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws. And I cannot vote to certify without pointing out the unprecedented effort of mega corporations, including Facebook and Twitter, to interfere in this election, in support of Joe Biden,” Hawley said at the time. “At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections. But Congress has so far failed to act. For these reasons, I will follow the same practice Democrat members of Congress have in years past and object during the certification process on January 6 to raise these critical issues.”

Since Hawley’s announcement, more than a dozen other U.S. senators have also stated their intention to object to the certification along with many members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Michael Balsamo with the Associated Press contributed to this report.