U.S. Democratic party supporters have raised over US$13,000 to rebuild a Republican Party office in North Carolina after it was vandalized and firebombed in what GOP officials have called an act of “political terrorism.”
According to reports, a bottle filled with flammable liquid was thrown through the window of the Orange County Republican Party headquarters early Sunday morning, setting fire to the empty office. The words “Nazi Republicans leave town or else” were also spray painted on a nearby wall.
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On Sunday, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton condemned the attack, calling it “horrific and unacceptable.” But, an hour later, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump took to Twitter to accuse Clinton supporters and Democrats of firebombing the office.
“Animals representing Hillary Clinton and Dems in North Carolina just firebombed our office in Orange County because we are winning,” read a tweet from Trump.
Soon after news of the firebombing broke, a GoFundMe campaign titled “Dems help reopen a NC Repub office” began circulating online.
“As Democrats, we are starting this campaign to enable the Orange County, North Carolina Republican office to re-open as soon as possible,” read the campaign story.
“Until an investigation is undertaken, we cannot know who did this or why. No matter the result, this is not how Americans resolve their differences. We talk, we argue, sometimes we march, and most of all we vote. We do not resort to violence by individuals or by mobs.”
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The campaign reached its goal of raising $10,000 in less than 40 minutes, raising $13,107 in total for the Republican party office.
“It took less than 40 non-partisan mins to raise $10,000 to re-open firebombed Repub office. A thirst for civility & democracy,” read a tweet sent by David Weinberger, a professor at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Technology, who created the GoFundMe campaign.
On Twitter, many urged people to donate to the campaign — regardless of the party they support — to stand against violence.
But not all Democrat supporters were in favour of the showmanship; some took to Twitter to mock those who were donating.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is working with local authorities to investigate the incident.
According to state GOP executive director Dallas Woodhouse, Republican offices around the state are now re-examining their security.
“They are working around the clock. It is a miracle that nobody was killed,” he said in an interview, urging Republicans to respond peacefully by turning out to vote in November.
– With files from The Associated press
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