Erin Hawley, wife of US Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, filed a criminal complaint against the organizer of a protest that took place outside the couple’s home in Virginia last month, according to reports on Friday.
The organizer was accused of illegally protesting a misdemeanor, ABC News reported.
The Republican senator – who was not at home when the protest took place – accused protesters, organized by a group called ShutdownDC, of vandalizing his residence and threatening his family in the January 4 protest for his plans to contest the results of the Electoral College.
Erin Hawley and the couple’s baby daughter, Abigail, were at home during the protest, while the couple’s senator and two children were back in Missouri, reported the Kansas City (Mo.) Star.
The protest video posted online showed the crowd shouting “What a shame!” and “Get up, fight back!” outside the senator’s house, according to ABC.
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At one point, Erin Hawley opens the front door and asks the protesters to leave.
“We have neighbors and a baby, thank you,” she says.
American Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Is seen at the Capitol on October 13, 2020 in Washington. (Getty Images)
“I was scared and I closed and locked the door,” she later wrote in a statement supporting her complaint.
At another point in the protest, three people approached the door, saying they planned to leave a copy of the Constitution or some plaques there.
“I was scared and closed and locked the door.”
Erin Hawley said in the statement that they were shouting, “Get out, get out!”
“I was scared,” she said.
In a message on Twitter on January 5, Senator Hawley said his wife and baby were threatened.
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“Tonight, while I was in Missouri, the Antifa scoundrels came to our home in DC and threatened my wife and newborn daughter, who cannot travel,” Hawley tweeted the night of the protest. “They shouted threats, vandalized and tried to open our door. Let me be clear: my family and I will not be intimidated by leftist violence.”
A local magistrate found “probable cause” to accuse the protest organizer, identified as Patrick Young.
But ShutdownDC officials downplayed reports of Erin Hawley’s complaint.
“We are not aware of any subpoena issued regarding our candlelight vigil at Senator Hawley’s home,” ShutdownDC said in a statement on Young’s call, according to the Star. “The police at the scene did not believe that a crime was committed. This was confirmed by the Vienna police department in media reports days later. If a subpoena was issued, it is outrageous that a wealthy and powerful person – a United States senator – can go to the magistrate to get a subpoena to harass a normal person. “
Anyone can file a criminal complaint in Virginia.
On Friday night, the group posted messages on Twitter accusing Senator Hawley of “trying to put people in prison”.
Senator Hawley’s office told ABC that in recent weeks his family has received “numerous death threats that are being monitored by authorities”.
But Officer Juan Vazquez, a spokesman for the Vienna Police Department (Virginia), told the Star that the protesters remained peaceful on January 4 and there was no evidence of material damage.
“It was a minor event,” said Vazquez, according to the newspaper. “Basically, we got a call saying that there was some kind of protest in front of a residence in our city. … The group was 15 to 20 people.”
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The official said the protesters left without an incident or arrest after police officers warned them that they were breaking the laws against protests in front of homes, excessive noise and writing on the sidewalk with chalk.
Protesters used a megaphone during the meeting and messages written as “Trump lost” with chalk.
The protest came days after the houses of the Mayor, Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., And the then Senator. Majority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Was vandalized and two days before the deadly US Capitol riot.