Progressive Caucus Co-chair Raul Grijalva is in an extremely tight re-election battle because he stood up against the racist, hateful SB 1070 law in Arizona. That’s why we added him to the Orange to Blue page.
Now, his campaign is getting disrupted by yet another terror attack on his office (hat tip, Man Eegee in the diaries):
U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva’s congressional office is closed this afternoon as police respond to a suspicious piece of mail.
An envelope arrived with swastikas drawn on the outside and a white powdery substance on the inside, said Adam Sarvana, Grijalva’s spokesman.
The office is on lockdown as police investigate. Those outside the office are not allowed in, and the workers and constituents inside are not allowed to leave until police clear the scene, Sarvana said.
Preliminary health checks show those in the office are OK, but further testing is needed because the substance has not been identified, Sarvana said.
At about 1:45 p.m. there were several police and two fire vehicles outside the office. It’s not the first time his office has been the target of threats.
Grijalva received death threats in April, shortly after SB1070 was signed into law and he called for a boycott in response. He closed his Tucson and Yuma offices as a result.
In July, after he called off the boycott, staffers found a bullet and a shattered window inside his Yuma office.
This is about a lot more than a single seat in Congress. This is about right-wing terrorists using violence to try and change the outcome of an election. How much campaigning do you think Grijalva was able to do yesterday after this?
We he can’t campaign, we have to get his back and campaign for him. That means donations. Please, chip in $10 to support Raul Grijalva right now.
As right-wingers whine about how dreadfully persecuted they are because of Jaun Williams, think about this possible chain of events:
- Arizona passes a law allowing police to randomly stop anyone who looks Latino, for any reason at all.
- A Latino member of Congress from Arizona, Raul Grijalva, protests this law, thereby resulting in a difficult re-election fight.
- During said re-election fight, Grijalva’s campaign is disrupted during the final days by terror attacks, while his base voters are potentially intimidated into not voting by the racist law Grijalva is protesting.
- Right-wingers literally use violence, racism and voter intimidation to steal an election.
That is the potential outcome we are facing here. It is absolutely chilling. We cannot allow it to happen.
Contribute $10 to Raul Grijalva right now.