On Monday, Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) held a public campaign event at a local coffee shop in Louisa, VA, described as a “friendly event where voters could meet” the Congressman and Republican leader. Jon Taylor, a member of the Louisa Democratic Committee, and his wife RSVP’d to the event and showed up with a sign for Cantor’s opponent, Rick Waugh. The coffee shop owners asked the couple to leave, and when they protested, Jon Taylor was dragged out and put on the ground by three law enforcement officers. Watch:
Taylor says he feels he was “manhandled” by the arresting officers, and that “[t]he Louisa County police department was basically used by Eric Cantor’s campaign to make a political statement.” For its part, the Cantor campaign accused Taylor of disrupting an event, and blamed Waugh’s campaign. “The voters of Virginia are going to reject this thuggery,” said Ray Allen Jr., a Cantor spokesman.
(HT: TP reader Zooey)
Update:
Media Matters pulls together some other examples of right-wing violence.