More than two years ago, the Orange County Republican Party’s headquarters in Hillsborough was firebombed and struck with graffiti, but the local Republican chapter said it's better off today than it was before the incident.
The crime at the Orange County Republican Party headquarters is being investigated jointly by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.The Hillsborough Police Department declined to comment because it's an ongoing investigation.
The graffiti included a swastika and the words “Nazi Republicans leave town or else." It was spray-painted in black on the side of an adjacent building, named Balloons Above Orange.
Waddy Davis, chairperson of the Orange County Republican Party, said the incident was influential for both the community and the Republican Party.
“I think it really brought people together," Davis said. "It united the people here at the community, and they voted positively for the Republican Party here in the state. People are motivated to go out to vote, to help get more involved with the election period.”
He also said the party became more aware of security after the incident happened.
“I think after two years we are more guarded," Davis said. "We know that violence happens almost every day, so we’ve got an alarm system now, we’ve got a camera system installed in our building, which we didn’t have before."
The party continues to face hostility, he said, especially leading up to the most recent midterm election.
“We had some pretty rude people come up, even someone cussing at me just because I was a Republican," Davis said. "And we have a couple of students at UNC who were verbally abused working at the polls.”
