HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — Mike Pence called the firebombing of a North Carolina GOP office an “act of political terrorism” on Tuesday after visiting the now-empty and blackened remains.
"I wanted to come by to call attention to this cowardly attack on our supporters in North Carolina and to no less extent and attack on the American political system,” Pence said after touring the battered Orange County GOP Headquarters, which still smelled like smoke. "This was an act of political terrorism."
Over the weekend, a bottle containing a flammable substance was thrown through the front window, authorities in Hillsborough said. It wiped out campaign material and furniture inside the room.
On a nearby structure, graffiti reading “Nazi Republicans Leave Town or Else” was scrawled with spray painted swastikas.
Pence called the act “utterly inexcusable” and suggested the national media has given the bombing “scant coverage” because of its “overwhelming bias.” He asserted that the coverage would be “significantly different” if it was a Democratic office attacked.
“I can't help but feel that, had this been the other way around, had it been an attack in this county on the other political party's county headquarters, that the level of national media coverage and the discussion would be significantly different,” Pence said.
In battleground North Carolina, Pence made the stop at the Orange County office before two campaign stops in Wilmington and Fayetteville.
