Derrick Van Orden challenger Rebecca Cooke spoke at the fundraiser roughly two months after Van Orden skipped votes to deal with the threat
In May, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R., Wisc.) was forced to leave Washington, D.C., and miss votes due to a “credible threat” against his family. Two months later, Van Orden’s opponent, Rebecca Cooke, attended a fundraiser at which a speaker encouraged attendees to protest at the Republican’s home, audio obtained by the Washington Free Beacon shows.
The fundraiser took place last week at a private residence less than a mile from Van Orden’s home in Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin, according to an online invitation. As the event came to a close, a man who appeared to be an organizer of the event addressed the crowd, encouraging them to attend an upcoming Democratic Party of Crawford County protest against Van Orden. That protest is scheduled to take place Thursday afternoon at a public roundabout near Van Orden’s home. From there, the speaker said, “we’re also going to do a little walk” to Van Orden’s home to have “a little rally.”
“We’ll be at the roundabouts from four to seven—four to six—on Thursday night next week, and we’re also going to do a little walk, two blocks down to the other side of Van Orden’s house whether he’s there or not, having a little rally,” the man said. “And then that’ll be it. So, we invite you to come to that.”
The fundraiser came just two months after Van Orden’s staff released a statement in May in which they confirmed that an unnamed individual sent a letter threatening the congressman’s wife, children, and grandchildren to his office in the Capitol complex.
“This type of behavior is the direct result of increasingly radical and violent rhetoric fueled by far-left Democrats who encourage hatred rather than healthy discourse,” the statement read. “It is a poison to our nation and every Member of Congress—Republican or Democrat—should fully condemn it when they see it.”
Wisconsin Republicans were already on high alert before the Democratic fundraiser’s call to protest near Van Orden’s home. An assailant attempted to throw a Molotov cocktail through the window of a county GOP office just across the border in Michigan over the weekend, and the Minnesota gunman who allegedly shot two lawmakers, killing one, also had Wisconsin officials’ names written on a target list.
Holding rallies near or even in front of Republican and conservative figures’ homes has become a common Democratic practice in recent years. Activists demonstrated outside the houses of several U.S. Supreme Court justices after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision leaked, with one individual traveling to Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home in an attempt to assassinate him.
Violence against political officials escalated earlier this year when an anti-Israel arsonist attempted to burn down the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and kill Gov. Josh Shapiro (D.) and his family.
A different man who appeared to be the owner of the home in which the fundraiser took place touted Van Orden’s Democratic opponent, Rebecca Cooke, before inviting the crowd to the rally.
“It’s important that we meet and know Rebecca Cooke, because once you know her, you’ll love her, and once you love her, you’ll vote for her.”
Cooke did not respond to a Free Beacon request for comment by press time.
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