By Matthew Reichbach
Over the weekend, the Republican Party of New Mexico said their headquarters in Albuquerque was set on fire and vandalized with spray paint.
The party said it happened early Sunday morning and that in addition to the fire, those responsible spray-painted “ICE=KKK” on the building.
“We are deeply relieved that no one was harmed in what could have been a tragic and deadly attack,” Republican Party of New Mexico Chairwoman Amy Barela said. “Those who resort to violence to undermine our state and nation must be held accountable, and our state leaders must reinforce through decisive action that these cowardly attacks will not be tolerated.”
She said the party is working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, local law enforcement and federal investigators, who are looking into the incident.
“There is no excuse for political violence or vandalism of any kind, and I strongly condemn Sunday’s attack on the New Mexico Republican Party headquarters in Albuquerque,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said. “I am relieved that no one was hurt, and New Mexicans can rest assured that State Police and the Fire Marshal’s Office will assist the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms as needed during the investigation.”
City officials and others also condemned the attack.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said, while details are not available as of yet, “arson is a violent and cowardly act that has no place in our city.”
“Politically motivated crimes of any kind are unacceptable, and I am grateful to our fire department for their swift response,” Keller said. “This incident is being investigated at the federal level, and I urge anyone with information to report it immediately.”
Albuquerque City Council President Brook Bassan and Councilor Renée Grout also condemned the suspected arson.
“The safety and security of all individuals and organizations are the primary responsibility of government,” Bassan said. “We stand united with the community against any attempt to disrupt or undermine that safety.”
Senate Republicans blamed Democrats for the attack.
“In the wake of a prominent Democrat official calling for her supporters to be ‘agitators,’ it appears some unhinged supporters took the message to heart and acted out in a violent manner,” the statement from Republican Senate leadership said. “Democrats must turn down the rhetoric and restore civility to our political process.”
The Democratic Party of New Mexico condemned the vandalization of the Republican Party headquarters “as strongly as possible” on Sunday.
On Monday, they responded to Republican statements blaming Democrats.
“It is deeply troubling that the New Mexico Senate Republicans and other members of the Republican Party are trying to weaponize the vandalism at the headquarters of their Party against Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez,” Democratic Party of New Mexico chair Jessica Valasquez said. “They maliciously and falsely claim that the Congresswoman’s call to peaceful political organizing during a town hall meeting in Santa Fe on Saturday was incitement to violence. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Update: Added a quote from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Update: Added quotes from the Democratic Party of New Mexico.
If the DNC headquarters had been firebombed, you people wouldn’t rest until all conservatives were hanged. Such inequitable justice in this state. You people should be ashamed
Yeah, there is no excuse for political violence. And yet the Republican party inflicts this everyday on the most vulnerable. Amy Barela, quit your sanctimonious pearl clutching. Your words are disingenuous bullshit. It is you and your regime wreaking havoc on everything that used to be right with America. You and the Republicans lit this fire.
Angry and hyperbolic/hysterical much?
“There is no excuse for political violence or vandalism of any kind, and I strongly condemn Sunday’s attack on the New Mexico Republican Party headquarters in Albuquerque,”
This statement, along with the arrests and “punishment” of universities for protests and for the use of programs that support helping lower-income students of color, read exactly like what was printed and stated 60 years ago! The problem is that the die has already been cast. The Republicans, Musk-Trump, and their supporters have overthrown our government, are arresting people solely based on color or language, and they are deliberately working to re-segregate America! They have already declared war on the middle class and are going to “play” with whether they can get away with chopping SS and Medicare! Thus far, our Courts have been unable to stop them, and may not be able to because our Constitution is not strong enough.
I am old enough to have been involved in both the civil rights and anti-war movements and can assure everyone that the violence that occurred then will be repeated within the next year whether you like it or not, it will be violent. The Governor and all the other Democrats, especially in Congress who remain unwilling to act decisively and with support for the protest movement and then mainly to find ways to stop this Coup, are the ones that need to change! Not those protesting!
These Republicans and old-school Democrats think that they can lie, steal, and arrest people and think that when the citizens fight back, they should be punished, will find out soon that their efforts to destroy democracy may not be so easy to do! There will be people who decide to act out against them! The NM Governor should be leading the effort to sympathize with those who may suffer and not immediately attack them with rhetoric!