Michael van der Veen lawyer for former President Donald Trump, walks to the Senate floor through the Senate Reception room on the fourth day of the Senate Impeachment trials for former President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill, February 12, 2021 in Washington, DC. – Lawyers for Trump expect to take just a few hours Friday to argue for acquittal in his impeachment trial. Trump’s lawyers say they will use as little as three or four hours to state their own case, when under the rules they are allowed up to 16 hours. (Photo by Jabin Botsford / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JABIN BOTSFORD/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The suburban Philadelphia home of one of the attorneys defending former President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial has been vandalized with graffiti.
Detective Scott Pezick of the West Whiteland Township Police Department in Chester County said the graffiti were reported around 8 p.m. Friday at the home of attorney Michael van der Veen.
The Philadelphia Inquirer posted a photo showing the word “Traitor” in red paint at the entrance of the driveway and an arrow pointing to the home.
No arrests have been made, Pezick said Saturday. The home now has private security, he said, “and we’ve been showing a police presence to deter anything from happening.”
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A group of demonstrators gathered at some point outside van der Veen's law office in downtown Philadelphia, calling him a “fascist” and chanting, “When van der Veen lies, what do you do? Convict. Convict," the Inquirer reported.
Van der Veen drew laughter from senators Saturday when he said any witness depositions could be done at his Philadelphia office.
Vandals also targeted the leaders of the U.S. House and Senate on the opening days of the New Year as Congress failed to approve an increase in the amount of money being sent to people to help cope with the coronavirus pandemic.
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Spray paint on then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s door in Kentucky read, “WERES MY MONEY,” and “MITCH KILLS THE POOR” was scrawled over a window. A profanity directed at the Republican senator was painted under the mailbox.
At House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home in San Francisco, someone spray-painted graffiti and left a pig’s head and fake blood.
