Democratic Party Headquarters Attacked By Marie Freeman Less than 24 hours before Pres. George Bush and Sen. John Kerry unleashed a barrage of political rhetoric last week, someone delivered a dangerous blow to local Democrats. Around 3 a.m. last Thursday morning, a vandal threw cinder blocks through two windows of the Watauga County Democratic Party Headquarters on King Street. Josh Beckworth, who lives nearby, reported the incident to Boone Police. “I just got in bed and was about to go to sleep and I heard this awful glass crashing. I thought someone was robbing the (Mountain Pirate) again, so I came out,” Beckworth said. “He ran to the right between Whitener Hall and the Baptist Church there. He was a brown-headed younger guy who had on a black T-shirt and khaki shorts,” Beckworth said. Watauga County Democratic Party chair Sue Sweeting said the incident was politically motivated and a sign of the emotions attached to the upcoming election. “The violence has certainly escalated,” Sweeting said. She added that in addition to the attack on the headquarters, someone painted “No Winston” messages on a road in the Stoney Fork community. Winston Kinsey is a candidate for Watauga County Commissioner in District 5. “There was ugliness during the last election with people going into yards and taking signs down, but this is crazy. This is deliberate violence against neighbors and we need to be concerned as a community,” Sweeting said. Denny Norris of the Watauga County Republican Party agrees with Sweeting. “I don’t condone any kind of damage to a political sign, much less rocks thrown through glass. We don’t want anybody hurt,” Norris said. The headquarters’ custom-sized windows cannot be immediately replaced, so plywood will serve as a temporary patch. “This won’t stop us — we will continue to operate our normal hours,” Sweeting said. Boone Police responded to the scene. No arrests have been made but the incident is under further investigation. The vandalism comes on the heels of nationwide reports of apparently politically motivated vandalism. On September 4, The Bozeman (Mont.) Daily Chronicle reported that rocks and eggs were thrown through the window of a local GOP headquarter and peace signs were spray-painted on the building. Frank Ruggiero contributed to this report.