A group of vandals targeted the house of Oakland, California, Mayor Libby Schaaf early on Tuesday, spraying messages in graffiti on the home’s driveway and garage.
The attack was designed to intimidate Schaaf and “strike fear into her family,” Justin Berton, a spokesperson for the office said in a statement.
Pictures from the messages sprayed on the garage port of the mayor’s house were shared on social media, calling out for her to “DEFUND OPD! CANCEL RENT! HOMES FOR ALL! DROP THE CHARGES!”
Other messages sprayed on her driveway reads “BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS,” “TAKE RESPONSIBILITY,” and “WAKE UP LIBBY.”
In addition to the messages sprayed in graffiti and splatters of a red-colored paint, the vandals set off fireworks and shot projectiles at the mayor’s home around 2 a.m., Berton said.
“An attack at the home of a publicly elected official does not advance democracy,” the mayor’s spokesperson statement reads.
“This attack, designed to intimidate the Mayor and strike fear into her family, will not stop her from advocating for the policies she believes are in the best long-term interests of her beloved hometown,” it continued. “Like all Oaklanders, she supports passionate protest but does not support tactics meant to harm and terrorize others.”
Cat Brooks, an activist and mayoral candidate in Oakland’s 2018 election, told local outlet KPIX5 her home shouldn’t have been vandalized.
“Should people have vandalized her home? Nah, that shouldn’t have happened. Are people incredibly angry with her? Yeah,” Brooks said.
The act of vandalism happened less than one day after President Donald Trump received the legal authority to send federal agents to cities, including Oakland, in response to crime and unrest.
Besides Oakland, Trump suggested that New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, and Baltimore could see federal agents in the coming days. “We will have more federal law enforcement. That I can tell you,” he said.
“Governors and mayors really need to step it up, particularly in Democrat cities where Democrat streets are out of control,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.
Under the aforementioned law, she said the administration can use agents to “conduct investigations of crimes committed against federal property or federal officers.”
Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
