The word “traitor” was spray-painted on the front of the attorney’s driveway.
Vandals targeted the home of one of former President Donald Trump’s impeachment lawyers, spray-painting the word “TRAITOR” in red on his driveway in suburban Philadelphia, police said.
The vandalism occurred around 8 p.m. on Friday at attorney Michael van der Veen’s residence in West Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles southwest of Philadelphia, according to police.
No arrests have been made, Detective Scott Pezick of the West Whiteland Township Police Department told ABC News on Sunday afternoon. Pezick said private security has since been hired by the homeowner to protect the residence, and police presence has been beefed up in van der Veen’s neighborhood.
Pezick said van der Veen’s wife reported the vandalism to police.
“She came home saw it in the driveway and called the police,” Pezick said.
He said the graffiti was the only vandalism officers found on the van der Veen’s property.
Van der Veen spent the week in Washington, D.C., defending Trump at his impeachment trial related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol building. Trump was acquitted by the Senate on Saturday.
Van der Veen, a personal injury lawyer, spoke briefly of the incident during an interview Saturday on Fox News.
“My home was attacked. I’d rather not go into that,” a visibly upset van der Veen said.
He added, “My entire family, my business, my law firm are under siege right now.”
A group of demonstrators gathered over the weekend outside of van der Veen’s law office in downtown Philadelphia, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. During the protest, demonstrators called van der Veen a “fascist” and chanted, “When van der Veen lies, what do you do? Convict. Convict,” the newspaper reported.
The vandalism to van der Veen’s home comes about a month after vandals graffitied the homes of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home in San Francisco. In addition, spraying graffiti on Pelosi’s house, vandals left behind a real pig’s head and fake blood.
No arrests were made in either case, in which vandals made reference to Congress’ failure to pass a bipartisan COVID-19 relief bill, said police investigating the vandalism incidents.
