Farmington Hills police investigated a message found at Rep. Haley Stevens’ district office as vandalism, Deadline Detroit reported, saying it did not appear to qualify as a direct threat against her. The message was discovered Monday on a stall door in the men’s restroom. It urged Stevens to take her own life, said her political career in Michigan was finished and bore the signature “Michigan Dems,” according to Deadline Detroit.
Deadline Detroit said the discovery came the day after Stevens endorsed Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers. No link between the endorsement and the message has been established.
The incident comes amid reports of intimidation involving Michigan political candidates. Seven Democratic candidates for the state House issued a joint statement in late October about threats and harassment, The Oakland Press reported. The article said political ads and text messages publicized candidates’ personal numbers, and in some cases family members’ numbers. It also described safety concerns that led some candidates to increase security spending or change their campaigning plans ahead of Tuesday’s election. The Oakland Press reported on the candidates’ statement and experiences.
A separate act of vandalism was reported outside Sen. Susan Collins’ office in Biddeford, Maine. Red paint and the words “blood on her hands” were found outside the office Monday night, WCYB reported. Collins’ chief of staff described it as the second attempt to intimidate the senator and staff at that location; the campaign said no one entered the building. Biddeford police are investigating, according to WCYB.
