The Republican headquarters in an Illinois county was vandalized Saturday night, with the words "rape" and "shame" spray-painted on the building, WIFR reported.
Graffiti on the Winnebago County Republican Party headquarters in Rockford was discovered by police early Sunday, the Chillicothe Times-Bulletin reported.
"My initial reaction was it's disgusting and it's despicable," Rockford Mayor Thomas McNamara, a Democrat, told WIFR.
Some of the spray-painted words included “9/27/18,” the date of the U.S. Senate hearing over allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Jim Thompson, chairman of the Winnebago County Republican Central Committee, blasted the vandalism.
“Is it any wonder that after months of attack ads this state and the move toward guilty until proven innocent in the U.S Senate that this type of violence has found its way to Rockford?” Thompson said at a news conference Sunday.
In a statement, Winnebago County Board Chairman Frank Haney said, “I see this moment as an opportunity for all of us to pivot away from this cowardly act and show everyone watching the best version of ourselves,” and Democratic leaders agree.
"It makes no sense from a political standpoint. It makes no sense from just being a civil human and it really has no place in the city of Rockford," McNamara told WIFR.
In a Facebook post, Republican State Rep. John Cabello urged civility.
“We can have our differences. We can have good spirited debate. I hope whoever is responsible for this will be brought to justice. You are a coward for doing it unless you come forward,” he wrote.
Police are still investigating, McNamara said.
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