Markey target of threatening calls in wake of health care vote

March 24, 2010

MSNBC is reporting that Fourth District U.S. Rep. Betsy Markey is among at least ten U.S. lawmakers who have been the victims of vandalism and the target of threatening phone calls in the wake of their votes in support of health care legislation.

Markey Chief of Staff Anne Caprara confirmed that her D.C. office has received at least two threatening calls. A man called the office the day before the vote and told a legislative assistant that “[you] better hope I don’t run into you in a dark alley with a knife, a club or a gun.”

MSNBC:

U.S. Rep. Betsy Markey

Concern about possible violence also escalated Wednesday after a severed gas line at the home of a Democratic lawmaker’s brother was discovered.

The slashed gas line leading to a propane tank at the home of Bo Perriello was found Tuesday, one day after Tea Party activists posted the address online and suggested that opponents of the reform bill should “express their thanks” to Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Va.

The FBI is working with local officials to investigate the incident.

Conservative activists in Virginia posted the home address of Perriello’s older brother – believing it to be the congressman’s address – when suggesting in Web postings that those who disagreed with the Democratic lawmaker’s vote should “drop by” to make their opposition clear.

Markey confirmed late last week that she planned to vote yay on health reform. She had voted against the bill in November for fiscal reasons. A Congressional Budget Office report assessing the Senate version of the bill Markey voted in favor of Sunday said it would reduce the deficit by $138 billion in the next decade. Markey said her concerns that the bill was too expensive and not balanced in its spending had been addressed.

According to KDVR, Markey’s office has alerted police in Fort Collins and asked them to patrol her office and home.