Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash) said in a statement Friday that his Bellevue home was vandalized Thursday night by people advocating for a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza.
“This attack is sadly reflective of the coarsening of the political discourse in our country, and is completely unwarranted, unnecessary, and harmful to our political system,” Smith said.
Smith added he and his staff have continually met with people across the political spectrum, “including Pro-Palestinian and left-wing activists.”
Despite the vandalism, Smith said he remains open to meeting with these groups to figure out how everyone can come together in a peaceful and productive way.
“We must engage with politics in this way and reject the rise in political violence that we have witnessed over the past several years,” Smith said. “The extremism on both the left and right side of our political spectrum is a threat to a healthy, functioning democracy and has been condoned for far too long. The simple truth is that extremism on both sides is degrading to our political system and must be rooted out for our democracy to be able to persist.”
“The world is increasingly complicated and full of tough challenges that require strong leaders,” Smith concluded. ‘I am committed to taking on these challenges and this act of vandalism has only made me more determined to remain in politics to ensure that we resolve our differences in a peaceful way that truly reflects representative democracy.”
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