A number of protesters were warned against trespassing at the Delaware County Republican Party Headquarters Thursday morning after they marched through the building chanting and refusing to leave.
Just after 10 a.m. Thursday, Media police were called to the 300 block of West Baltimore Avenue to the Delaware County Republican Party headquarters for the report of a group of individuals chanting and walking around the building.
According to the police incident report, as officers were pulling up, a female volunteer said that the group was getting ready to back out of a parking spot on Front Street.
Police stopped that vehicle from leaving, while another officer spoke to an ex-director at the party headquarters who said that the group went upstairs, was chanting and when asked to leave would not.
In a press release, Republican party officials said the two female volunteers felt threatened by the four protesters.
Officer Egan spoke with the office manager, who said that the group went upstairs and was chanting with their phones out. She said that she felt threatened.
Egan returned to his car and told the individuals that were in the building that they have been trespassing and they will be charged if they return.
They all acknowledged what the officer was saying.
As Egan was leaving, an unidentified male who was previously in the building flagged down Egan to tell him that he believed the group was in the building in the past.
Egan told him to call the police should they return, and they would be charged with trespassing.
According to the complaint report, police were on the scene 18 minutes and the case was closed.
“This type of harassment — a descent into threats or intimidation — ought to have no no place in our community,” Republican Party officials said. “We condemn it in the strongest possible terms, and call on our friends across the aisle to do the same.”
Colleen Guiney, chair of the Delaware County Democratic Committee, agreed.
“We condemn any type of harassment, threat or intimidation,” she said. “We seek free and fair elections, and encourage all voters to participate at the ballot box, and be respectful of our neighbors on both sides of the aisle, before, during and after elections.”
