At firebombed campaign office, Pence slams ‘political terrorism’

Republican VP hopeful defends claim election will be ‘rigged,’ says Trump supporters will not be ‘intimidated’ by attack

By Bill Barrow 19 October 2016, 12:25 am

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Republican vice presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence inspects a charred chair outside the Orange County Republican Party Headquarters in Hillsborough, N.C., Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016. (AP/Ben McKeown)

HILLSBOROUGH, North Carolina (AP) — Republican vice presidential hopeful Mike Pence condemned on Tuesday the firebombing of a North Carolina Republican campaign office Sunday as an “act of political terrorism.”

The Indiana governor made a surprise stop at the Orange County GOP headquarters, encouraging local GOP officials and volunteers as he stood among stacks of Donald Trump campaign signs left charred by a Molotov cocktail.

“An attack on our political system is an attack on us all,” Pence told reporters outside the office. He praised Trump supporters for their “courage” and “resilience” and added, “We will not be intimidated.”

Pence visited the office, located on the outskirts of the Raleigh-Durham area, on his way to two rallies elsewhere in North Carolina. The state has emerged as a must-win for the Trump, with the New York billionaire having no realistic path to the required 270 electoral votes if he doesn’t win here.

North Carolina authorities are still investigated the firebombing, which happened sometime overnight Saturday into Sunday. No one was injured.

A burned couch is shown next to warped campaign signs at the Orange County Republican Headquarters in Hillsborough, North Carolina on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Jonathan Drew)

Separately, Pence struggled to defend Trump’s repeated assertions that the November 8 election will be “rigged,” claims Trump has offered without evidence.

When first asked about Trump’s statement, Pence argued that his running mate was talking primarily about “the overwhelming bias in the national media.” When pressed on Trump’s specific predictions of widespread voter fraud, Pence argued that there have been “proven instances of fraud” in recent decades.

There have been, in fact, only limited instance of voter impersonation, and never enough to alter the outcomes of national elections.

Pence said he believes “in local participation” and suggested Trump only wants his supporters to “respectfully participate” at the polls “to ensure the integrity of the election.”

Pence did not directly answer when asked whether Trump wants more than the longstanding tradition of having poll watchers from the Democratic and Republican parties at every precinct. Pence praised that system as having “served us well.”