House

GOP lawmaker reports ‘threatening’ Twitter messages to police

by Juliegrace Brufke - 10/05/18 10:16 PM ET

Rep. Mark Walker’s (R-N.C.) office said this week that it reported Twitter messages from a supporter of his Democratic opponent to Capitol Police to investigate.

Staff for Walker, the chairman of the powerful Republican Study Committee, said they asked for Capitol Police to investigate after the North Carolina Republican’s campaign received continuous threatening messages from a supporter of his Democratic opponent.

The person behind the tweets – which included the “bomb” emoji and an attempt to track down information about the congressman’s daughter’s school and whether it was public or private – was identified as Andrew Cabaccang, a Montana-based man who previously resided in Raleigh, The News and Observer reported.

“Following weeks of threatening bombing references, attempts to locate the school Walker’s daughter attends, and mentions of his family and home address, our staff submitted the messages to Capitol Police,” Walker campaign spokesman Jack Minor said in a statement.

{mosads}“Capitol Police found the threat credible enough to warrant a visit. Following the assessment, Walker was made aware of the threat.”

Deputies from Montana’s Sanders County Sheriff’s Office reportedly paid Cabaccang a visit on Sept. 19.

The man criticized Walker’s office for filing the police report, questioning why the congressman wouldn’t first report him to Twitter or block him on the platform.

“It’s just petty, petty, petty. I know I didn’t do anything wrong,” Cabaccang told the News & Observer.

Minor noted the staff’s call to investigate the comments came in the wake of the shooting at a GOP baseball practice in the summer of 2017, which left House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) seriously wounded.

“After the 2017 shooting at a baseball practice for Republican members of Congress, the U.S. House sergeant at arms has reported an unprecedented increase in threats and has encouraged members and staff to show more caution,” he said.

Tags Mark Walker Steve Scalise