Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley (R) claimed late Monday that “Antifa scumbags” threatened his wife and newborn daughter while demonstrating outside the family’s Washington, D.C., residence.
In a tweet, the senator wrote that the protesters “screamed threats, vandalized, and tried to pound open our door.”
Video of the event shared on Twitter showed a handful of protesters holding what was billed as a “candlelight vigil” outside the residence, while largely remaining on the street. At one point, several protesters are seen carrying a sign to the front door of the residence and ringing the doorbell while an activist speaks over a megaphone. A woman is seen inside looking out the window, but not answering the door.
During multiple points in the video, activists are heard loudly chanting slogans outside Hawley’s home, including “due diligence has been done, Biden-Harris has won,” referring to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, whose victory the Missouri senator is set to challenge at a joint session of Congress this week. At one point, the group is confronted by an angry passerby.
Hawley has found himself the target of widespread bipartisan criticism in recent days following the announcement of his plans to contest the count of the Electoral College vote during a session of Congress on Wednesday, a challenge that is widely expected to fail.