On Monday, this happened:
A tea party organizer angry over Rep. Tom Perriello’s (D-Va.) vote in favor of health care reform published what he thought was the freshman member’s home address on a blog, in case any readers “want to drop by” and provide a “personal touch” to their views.
Rather than giving out Perriello’s address however, the tea party activist instead mistakenly printed the home address of the congressman’s brother. Perriello’s brother and wife have four children under the age of eight.
In the post, the author gives out the address to his “friends” in Perriello’s district.
“Just in case any of his friends and neighbors want to drop by and say hi and express their thanks regarding his vote for healthcare,” the author writes. “I personally believe it’s so important for representatives to remain fully grounded and to remember exactly what it is their constituents are saying and how they are telling them to vote. Nothing quite does that like a good face-to-face chat. It has a much more personal touch to it.”
And shortly thereafter, this happened:
Law enforcement authorities are investigating the discovery of a cut propane gas line at the Virginia home of Rep. Thomas Perriello’s (D-Va.) brother, whose address was targeted by tea party activists angry at the congressman’s vote for the health care bill.
An aide to the congressman confirmed to POLITICO that a line to a propane tank behind his brother’s home near Charlottesville had been sliced.
The FBI would not disclose the details of the incident but said that they have been to the home.
“This is very preliminary at this point, so we’re not making any comment at this time,” local FBI spokesman M.A. Myers told POLITICO.
Lee Catlin, community relations director for the Albemarle County Fire Marshal, said in a statement to POLITICO that the office is “investigating a suspicious incident” at the home of the congressman’s brother. “The Fire Marshal’s Office is conducting the investigation in cooperation with the FBI,” Catlin said. “While officials are not willing to characterize the exact nature of the incident because of the ongoing investigation, it did not involve an immediate threat to occupants of the residence. However officials are taking the incident very seriously and conducting a vigorous investigation,” the statement said.
We don’t know that there’s a connection between these two incidents, but it’s not hard to believe that there could be.
