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A North Carolina Republican candidate is calling for his Democratic rival to apologize for a campaign ad that was released on the same day his parents’ home was shot at while his kids slept inside.
Former Green Beret, Pat Harrigan, 35, who’s running for an open seat in the state’s left-leaning 14th Congressional District, claims that the ad features his lake house, which is near his parents’ house that was shot at on October 18.
A single bullet shattered a window in the room directly below where his children, ages three and five, were sleeping. No one was injured, but the children have been relocated out-of-state for their safety.
Harrigan, who is running against Democratic state Sen. Jeff Jackson, appeared on Fox News on Friday and called on his opponent to ‘condemn the violence and apologize for his lies.’
‘He is willing to trade my security and my family’s security to score political points and it’s reprehensible,’ he said.
Jackson has since issued a statement on Twitter condemning the violence.
Former Green Beret Pat Harrigan, 35, is calling for his Democratic rival to apologize for a campaign ad that pictured one of his homes and was released on the same day his parents’ home was shot at while his kids slept inside
A single bullet shattered a window in the room directly below where his children, ages three and five, were sleeping. No one was injured, but the children have been relocated out-of-state
The children were asleep in the bedroom directly above the room where the bullet came through the window from a densely wooded area behind the house, but not waking the kids
On the Fox News segment on Friday, Harrigan said the shooting happened at his parents’ home in Hickory, which is near his lake house – the same property that was featured in a campaign ad aired by Jackson. It has since been pulled from syndication.
An investigation is underway, but local police and federal agents have yet to make an arrest.
The shooting comes amid heightened concerns for the security of politicians ahead of next week’s Midterms, following last Friday’s attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 82-year-old husband at their San Francisco home.
Harrigan, a firearms manufacturer and U.S. Army Special Forces veteran, has vowed to fight ‘rampant crime – including political violence’ following the shooting and after he received death threats.
‘This is politics at its worst,’ he said on the Fox News segment on Friday. ‘And the reason it’s this way is because my opponent is desperate to do anything that he possibly can to talk about anything other than what actually matters in this campaign.’
He explained that those are matters are: ‘the economy, inflation, rampant crime, declining educational outcomes for our kids, the crisis at the southern border, it doesn’t matter what he has to manufacture – he is willing to trade my security and my family security to score political points and it’s reprehensible.’
A short time later on Friday morning, Jackson issued a statement on Twitter condemning the violence.
He wrote: ‘It appears that someone – who has yet to be identified – fired a shot into the home of my opponent’s parents. It was absolutely an act of violence and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms…Thankfully no one was hurt, but whoever did this should be held accountable.
‘In an abundance of caution, as soon as I learned about the event I asked for one of our ads to be paused. It included an image of one of my opponent’s homes as seen from across a lake at a distance of several hundred yards – and miles away from the other home.
‘My opponent has since made a statement in which he calls this ‘political violence.’ While there’s no evidence for that, I share his concern that political rhetoric is often far too hot. I hope he’ll reconsider his ad claiming I support domestic terrorism, which runs daily.’
Harrigan’s opponent, Democrat Jeff Jackson, has been forced to pull an ad where he revealed the outside his opponent’s home. An investigation has been underway since, but cops have failed to make an arrest
Harrigan’s business is a firearm parts supply company, where customers can buy complete firearms, parts, mounting solutions, optics, and ammunition, according to the Green Beret PAC.
Jackson has previously accused Harrigan of making money off the devastating school shooting at Sandy Hook in 2012 through his and his wife’s business.
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Jackson pointed to a 2018 interview Harrigan did with an AR-15 podcast on Firearms Radio Network, where the candidate reportedly said: ‘At the time, AR-15s were kind of in their heyday. Sandy Hook had happened and there was a shortage [of AR-15s].’
Harrigan has dismissed the allegation, saying that it is an ‘unfortunate fact that after a firearms-related tragedy, gun sales go up due in large part to the reckless political dialogue that ensues shortly thereafter which makes law-abiding citizens concerned that their rights to own firearms will be threatened.’
However, since the shooting at his parent’s home, which saw the wannabe-politician quickly moving his children out of state as a safety precaution, Harrigan has also reportedly begun wearing a bulletproof vest to his events.
Harrigan, a former Green Beret, vowed to fight ‘political violence’ after his parent’s home was shot on October 18, the same day his opponent Jeff Jackson released a now-pulled campaign ad showing Harrigan’s lake house in Hickory, which is located near his parent’s home
A bullet landed just a few feet from where Harrigan’s children were sleeping at their grandparent’s home in Hickory. Harrigan said he moved them from his home nearby after receiving death threat and said he now wears a bulletproof vest
Harrigan’s mother, Marla Harrigan, said the entire situation has put tremendous pressure on the Army vet, whose life has been uprooted now that his family has been split up.
‘It’s just disconcerting, especially with the children there,’ said Marla, before detailing the tension that has been thrust on the now-fractured family.
‘This campaign is so stressful, and we feel so badly for our son because, you know, he’s terribly stressed about his children.
‘And now they’re gone, they’re not with their parents – and it’s just very, very disruptive.’
The FBI are currently overseeing the investigation and are being aided in their efforts by both state and local police. Authorities said the bullet came from a densely wooded area behind the house.
Former Special Forces soldier Harrigan previously criticized his opponent for airing the location of his domicile despite knowing about him receiving death threats and has since come forward to assert he would not be intimidated – and that ‘death threats aren’t enough to knock this Green Beret off that mission.’
His opponent, meanwhile, was forced to pull the ad filmed directly outside the lakeside home, which criticized Harrigan’s gun manufacturing business, as well as his ownership of a home set outside the confines of the 14th District.
Jackson’s ad shows a man on a jet ski as a narrator tells listeners Harrigan ‘made a fortune’ off tragedies such as the Sandy Hook Shooting and bought a lake house.
It then shows an image of the home, which is not far from that of his parents.
The ad shows a man on a jet ski as a narrator tells listeners Harrigan ‘made a fortune’ off tragedies such as the Sandy Hook Shooting and bought a lake house. It then shows an image of Harrigan’s home, which is not far from that of his parents. The spot was released on the day of the shooting – and spurred an angry open letter from Harrigan to Jackson a week later
A narrator goes on to assert that the former soldier used supposed blood money to buy the scenic lake house. It goes on to show an image of the home – something Harrigan would slam as going ‘too far’ in an open letter – saying the advert put him and his family at risk.
The FBI are testing ballistics of a bullet that went through the window, with photos shared by Carrigan’s office this week showing a pronounced bullet hole on the domicile.
Jackson, meanwhile, has questioned Harrigan’s voter registration, citing how the Republican owns a home in Hickory and rents an apartment in Charlotte. Harrigan is registered to vote in Charlotte, but Jackson has demanded an investigation about whether he is legally registered there.
Both candidates claim to be more interested in issues than in baseless attacks – but despite their shared service record, the two have vastly differing plans as to prospective policies if elected come Election Day.
Harrigan has said he is dead-set on fighting inflation and economic issues, while Jackson, markedly more progressive, has said his opponent is more focused on attacking him politically – likely spurring the since-pulled ad. The ad was pulled from syndication on Thursday, WBTV reported – likely hours after the shooting was announced.
It is the latest attack on a politician member or their family in the run-up to the midterms.
On Friday, Pelosi’s elderly husband Paul was beaten with a hammer in his San Francisco home last Friday, New Hampshire Senate candidate Don Bolduc said a suspect tried to punch him before a debate on Wednesday night and a man tried to stab New York gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin on stage.
Biden condemned political violence in a divisive speech from Union Station in Washington DC on Wednesday night.
