Vandals attacked the family home of Donald Trump’s defense lawyer, Michael van der Veen, over the weekend.
Photos taken by local media show the word “TRAITOR” painted in red at the entrance to the Pennsylvania property. Arrows pointed at the house.
Eggs were also thrown at the property’s front door, investigators said Newsweek.
It happened around 8 pm on Friday, the day that Trump’s lawyers closed the case, at the West Whiteland Township residence, approximately 30 miles southwest of Philadelphia, police said.
“Mr Van Der Veen’s wife came home and found the word ‘traitor’ painted on his sidewalk and eggs thrown at the front door,” said Detective Scott Pezick of the West Whiteland Township Police Department on Monday.
Police are investigating the incident, but police said there were no suspects at the time of publication.
Police presence has increased in the neighborhood, Pezick told CBS Philly on Sunday, and the homeowner has already hired private security to protect the property.
Asked about vandalism in Fox News Saturday, the lawyer said, “To answer your question, my entire family, my business, my law firm are under siege right now. I really don’t want to go into that, however.”
This seemed to be a reference to demonstrations outside van der Veen’s law firm in central Philadelphia over the weekend..
Protesters called the lawyer “fascist” and shouted, “When van der Veen lies, what do you do? Damned. Damned,” the newspaper said.
Julie Shaw, criminal justice reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, tweeted a video of the scene on Friday, stating that seven protesters were with Refuse Fascism.
Earlier on Friday, Trump’s lawyer had a heated argument with Bernie Sanders when the senator asked if he agreed with Trump’s stated belief that he had won reelection by right – an allegation based on proven false allegations of electoral fraud. widespread.
Another Trump lawyer, Bruce Castor, also spoke about the demonstrations at his home and suggested that more discreet members of Trump’s defense team were also subjected to what he called “very disturbing” acts.
“My house has been the subject of unrest,” said Castor, during a separate interview with Fox News Saturday. “These people are lawyers and expect to do their jobs without fear for their personal safety.”
“If the country has reached the point where someone needs a lawyer, that lawyer is attacked, where do we go when someone really needs a lawyer and cannot find one because he is afraid to defend a person who represents what half of the country consider it an unpopular cause? “
Trump was finally acquitted of the charge of inciting an uprising on January 6 at the United States Capitol. The Senate voted 57-43 for absolution.
Earlier this year, vandals also attacked the homes of Mayor Nancy Pelosi and then Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.
Both incidents appear to have been caused by frustrations with the continuing stalemate in Congress in a second round of stimulus checks.
At Pelosi’s home in San Francisco, a pig’s head was left outside the garage door, which said “$ 2K”, “Cancel rent” and “We want it all”.
The next day, January 2, similar feelings were found spray-painted on the door of McConnell’s Kentucky home. A message said, “Was it my money?” according to WAVE, and another said, “Mitch Kills Poor.”
Samuel Corum / Getty
Update 2/15/21, 11:48 am ET: This article has been updated to include comments from Detective Scott Pezick of the Whiteland Township Police Department.