GOP Congressman Says Campaign Headquarters Vandalized

Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) (R) listens while U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a meeting with lawmakers in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Sept. 13, 2017. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

A Republican congressman in western New York said his election campaign headquarters was vandalized on Aug. 25.

“Last night, a brick was thrown through our campaign office in my hometown of Corning, causing extensive damage. Thank God no one was hurt but this renews our commitment to stand up to this hatred and extremism,” Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) said on Twitter on Aug. 26.

“I will continue to try to unite us, as violence is never acceptable!”

Reed held a press conference in the afternoon, joined by his family, Corning Mayor Bill Boland, State Assemblyman Phil Palmesano, and a small group of supporters, according to MyTwinTiers.com.

“This type of violence is completely unacceptable,” Reed said. “To the coward who did this ... this will not deter us.”

Photos uploaded by the news website showed the office’s shattered front window and police tape surrounding it.

Reed, who is running for a fifth term, is being challenged by Democrat Tracy Mitrano, who works as a cybersecurity expert. He defeated her by about 20,000 votes in the last election.

Reed is the co-chairman of President Donald Trump’s New York reelection campaign.

The vandalism comes amid a wave of civil unrest in several cities, including in Portland, Oregon, and Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the wake of several high-profile incidents.

“I will never understand what I’m seeing across the country in regards to people thinking that violence is the solution to our problems in America and to see it happen right here in our hometown, the place that my wife and I live and have raised our son and our daughter is something that I never thought we would experience,” Reed said.