Crime

Home Of Trump Attorney Van Der Veen Vandalized With Graffiti

Report

The suburban home of one of the attorneys who defended former President Donald Trump in the Senate impeachment trial had been vandalized, authorities said.

Detective Scott Pezick of the West Whiteland Township Police Department in Chester County, Philadelphia, confirmed to The Associated Press that the vandalization of attorney Michael van der Veen’s home was reported to authorities at around 8 p.m. on Friday.

A photograph from the scene showed someone had spray-painted “traitor” in the driveway of van der Veen’s home.

As of Saturday, no arrest has been made, Pezick told the news wire, adding that police are present in the area to deter “anything from happening.”

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that a group of protesters had also targeted van der Veen’s Center City law office, chanting, “When van der Veen lies, what do you do? Convict. Convict.”

Van der Veen told reporters that he was aware of his home was attacked, adding that he did not want to go into the details of the attack to prevent others from following suit.

“My home was attacked last night—windows broken, spray paint, really bad words spray-painted everywhere,” he said, adding, “I’ve had nearly 100 death threats.”

“The thing is, you guys don’t know me but you know I’m not a controversial guy. I’m not politically minded so to speak. I’m a trial lawyer and I represent people’s interests in court. That’s what I do. I love doing it. And I’m disappointed that that is the result of just me doing my job,” he added.

Van der Veen delivered closing remarks on Saturday, where he argued that the second impeachment trial against Trump was a “complete charade from beginning to end,” fueled by partisan hatred against the former president.

“At no point did you hear anything that could ever possibly be construed as Mr. Trump encouraging or sanctioning an insurrection,” the lawyer said on the Senate floor.