Federal law enforcement officials have launched a criminal investigation into gunshots that were fired late last month at the family home of North Carolina congressional candidate Pat Harrigan (R), a former Green Beret.
News of the shots that hit Harrigan’s parent’s home in Hickory, North Carolina, broke Thursday afternoon after the family disclosed the incident in an interview with The Associated Press.
Harrigan’s campaign said that Harrigan’s children were inside the home when the shooting happened and that a shot hit the home within a few feet of where the children were sleeping.
WBT News reported that the FBI was involved in the investigation and that other agencies may be involved.
Harrigan is running in the state’s new 14th Congressional District against state Sen. Jeff Jackson (D).
“Jeff Jackson’s brand of politics leads to runaway inflation, economic ruin, and rampant crime – including political violence. Voters literally cannot afford to have him in Congress,” Harrigan’s campaign said in a statement. “I’m focused on fixing the economy, lowering prices, and keeping our streets safe. And it’ll take more than a bullet and death threats to knock this Green Beret off that mission.”
In a letter to his Jackson last month, Harrigan said that he was disappointed in how Jackson had conducted himself while on the campaign trail, including filming a campaign ad in front of one of Harrigan’s homes in Hickory.
“On September 28th, you and your team shot a television ad outside one of my homes in Hickory, North Carolina,” he said. “Aside from the plainly false information in the ad, you crossed a red line–but not before showing your true character to the people of the 14th District. The ad went too far because targeting family domiciles crosses a line.”
“Family is stretched thin on campaigns–and you violated my family’s security,” he continued. “I have already received a credible death threat. I wear a low-profile bulletproof vest to every single major public event. As I travel, wherever my family is located, they are significantly less safe with me in this race. And they are even less safe now that you’ve shown one of my homes to the world.”
“I’m never going to film an ad in front of your home, violating the sanctity and security of your family- putting their lives at risk,” he later added. “It just doesn’t seem like the ‘honest and decent’ thing to do. Quite frankly, it would be so dishonest and indecent that the thought has never crossed my mind. I’m sorry that it crossed yours.”
An open letter to Jeff Jackson.#ncpol pic.twitter.com/wzoIKdFroq
— PatHarriganNC (@PatHarriganNC) October 26, 2022
