Despite finding devices that state “Free Gaza” at the scene of arson attacks on ballot boxes in Washington state and in Oregon, police have said that the motive of the attackers is not yet known.
“Investigators are trying to determine if the perpetrator was actually a pro-Palestinian activist or someone using that prominent cause to sow discord,” The New York Times reported, citing an unnamed official.
The message appeared on devices that police found on Monday at ballot boxes that were burnt in Portland, Ore., and across the state line in Vancouver, Wash., and on a third device near a Vancouver ballot box earlier in the month, per the Times.
“Devices with ‘free Gaza’ messages were found at the ballot box fires in Oregon and Washington. Yet, despite the obvious answers right in front of them, the police are somehow struggling to determine the motive for the arson fires,” wrote Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.).
“The anti-Israel extremists behind the fires are metaphorical and literal arsonists, intent on burning down America itself,” the pro-Israel Democrat stated. “Anti-Americanism is not merely a byproduct of anti-Zionism. It is the product.”
“We’re continuing to monitor this incident in which incendiary devices marked with ‘Free Gaza’ and ‘Free Palestine’ exploded and damaged ballot boxes in Portland and Vancouver,” the Anti-Defamation League stated. “As we await more details, we condemn this attempt to sow fear and disrupt the electoral process.”
