OLYMPIA, Wash. — An office building with ties to the Washington State Republican Party was vandalized in Olympia Monday morning.
Security video posted to Twitter shows two people breaking the window and tossing a lit flare into an Olympia office building. The office building includes offices for a business owned by Washington State House Representative Andrew Barkis and has office space leased by the House Republican Organizational Committee.
"We don't know exactly the motivation," said Washington State Republican Party Chairman Caleb Heimlich. "However, Republicans in Washington State have consistently condemned political violence of all types and all forms."
Barkis runs Hometown Property Management, Inc. The business provides leasing and property management services.
The flare tossed inside the window of the building hit a stone floor and did not light anything on fire. A video of the attack was tweeted out Monday by Washington State House Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox.
"Hopefully, what the police find out is who did this, and then they can be brought to justice, because this is a crime," Heimlich said.
The actions have been condemned by Republicans and Democrats. Gov. Jay Inslee retweeted Wilcox's video Monday and said, "Such attempts at violence are abhorrent. We're thankful no one was hurt. Hopefully law enforcement is able to identify these individuals before they inflict any more harm."
Wilcox responded to the governor and thanked him for speaking out.
"We have an obligation and I think a duty, to try and lower the temperature," Heimlich said. "The way we settle our political differences in Washington State, in America, with our political process is through the ballot box. It's not through violence."
In another incident, a report from the Olympia Police Department said two men burglarized a business in the 2100 block of Pacific Ave SW just after 4:15 a.m.
Police said in the report three suspects were captured in a silver early 2000s Subaru Outback with a trailer hitch in the back. Two of the three suspects are “clearly suspects” from the flare attempted arson, according to the police report. Investigators said the clothing and physical descriptions match for the suspects.
There are no known suspects, witnesses or leads in the case, investigators said in the report.