Firebomb burns through political lines in N.C.
MICHAEL BLACKWOOD, STAFF WRITER
Photo courtesy of Dawn Armfield, unsplash.com
On Sunday, Oct. 16, a firebomb roared through the Republican Party headquarters in the small town of Hillsborough, N.C. A local businessowner reported the attack to the police on Sunday morning. The words, “Nazi republicans leave town or else” were found painted on a building next door. No one was killed or injured during the attack.
The event sparked outrage among both political parties, with the presidential nominees of both parties tweeting opposition to this attack and any who would take inspiration from it. In response to the event, North Carolina Governor, Pat McCrory, called the instance “an attack on our democracy.”
After the attack, Donald Trump, the republican Presidential Nominee tweeted, “ALL SAFE IN ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA. With you all the way, will never forget. Now we have to win. Proud of you all! @NCGOP”
The democratic Presidential Nominee, Hillary Clinton tweeted on Sunday afternoon, “The attack on the Orange County HQ @NCGOP office is horrific and unacceptable. Very grateful that everyone is safe.”
Should this event matter to someone who is neither a Republican, nor from North Carolina? Doctor David Tyner, an associate professor of Political Science at North Greenville University, believes so.
Tyner advised people to “imagine that it occurred in your home state, ask how you would feel about it”. Tyner then stated, “It strikes at the rational for using votes rather than bullets to decide who exercises power.”
Though this event was terrible, it did create some solidarity between the two parties in Orange County. A group of democrats in the area have created a GoFundMe to help rebuild the political office.
