Oakland mayor’s home vandalized ahead of vote against defunding police

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s (D) home was vandalized in the early hours of Tuesday morning, shortly before she cast a deciding vote not to defund the city’s police department.

Around 2 a.m. Tuesday, vandals shot projectiles at Schaaf’s home, set off fireworks and graffitied her home with paint, Schaaf’s spokesperson, Justin Berton, said in a statement. 

“Defund OPD,” “homes 4 all,” and “blood on your hands” were spray-painted on Schaaf’s garage, the sidewalk and stone wall outside her home, news station KGO reported. Witnesses said 30 to 50 people dressed in black and wearing masks shot projectiles and set off fireworks around 2 a.m., according to the outlet. 

“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,” Berton said. “Like all Oaklanders, she supports passionate protest but does not support tactics meant to harm and terrorize others.”

Tuesday night, Schaaf cast a deciding vote not to cut millions of dollars from the police budget after the city council was deadlocked on a decision, KPIX 5 reported. 

Police are investigating the vandalism, according to reports. 

Oakland is among cities to which President Trump warned earlier this week he may send federal agents to aid local law enforcement. The administration has gotten backlash over the tactics federal agents used in Portland, Ore., last weekend. 

“I’m going to do something — that, I can tell you,” Trump said Monday, when he was asked about reports of the government sending federal troops to cities. “Because we’re not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these — Oakland is a mess. We’re not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats.”

Schaaf rejected the president’s offer. 

“He continues to try and distract the American people from the fact that he is not doing his job of protecting us from this pandemic,” Schaaf said on ABC7’s Midday Live. “I don’t need law enforcement in Oakland, I need testing, I need personal protective equipment. We need direct income support for people who are out of work, that’s what we need. This president seems to confuse a political bent.”