An officer with the Uniform Division of the United States Secret Service uses his dog to search a checkpoint near the home of former President Barack Obama in Washington. Photo / AP
Republican leaders rushed to decry the pipe bombs sent to three Democrats and a cable network that US President Donald Trump has demonised repeatedly, saying that such acts cannot be tolerated despite the corrosive tone on the campaign.
Packages containing the crude devices addressed to former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were intercepted by the Secret Service, while others were found at the home of liberal philanthropist George Soros and CNN's New York headquarters.
All four are regular targets of sharp criticism and name-calling from Trump and his conservative allies.
With just two weeks until the Midterm elections, the pipe bombs appeared to prompt some politicians to pause to reflect on the nation's poisonous political atmosphere in a final campaign notable for apocalyptic imagery, violent confrontations and Trump's mantra that the GOP is "the party of jobs and the Democrats are the party of mobs."
The White House characterised the mailing of the explosive devices as "terrorising acts," while prominent elected Republicans condemned it as a cowardly attack aimed at terrorising public figures. There were universal calls to bring anyone behind the acts to justice quickly.
Clinton, speaking at a fundraiser for congressional candidate Donna Shalala in Coral Gables, Florida, thanked the Secret Service for intercepting the package sent to her home and called it "a troubling time."
"It is a time of deep divisions and we have to do everything we can to bring our country together," Clinton said. "We also have to elect candidates who will try to do the same, who will set goals that will lift up every Floridian and American."
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, (R), who survived a 2017 assassination attempt, wrote in the first in a series of tweets: "These attempted attacks that have been made are beyond criminal, they are acts of pure terror. Violence and terror have no place in our politics or anywhere else in our society.
"Those responsible for these evil acts of terror must be hunted down and brought to justice, and I have great confidence that our law enforcement officers will succeed in that mission. As a nation, we must agree that this is a dangerous path and it cannot become the new normal," Scalise continued.
At the White House, Vice-President Mike Pence tweeted: "We condemn the attempted attacks against fmr Pres Obama, the Clintons, @CNN & others. These cowardly actions are despicable & have no place in this Country. Grateful for swift response of @SecretService, @FBI & local law enforcement. Those responsible will be brought to justice."
.@PeteWilliamsNBC shows image of package that was addressed to former CIA Director Brennan and sent to CNN in NYC. pic.twitter.com/mjfZMdfenx
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) October 24, 2018
Trump retweeted Pence's statement, adding, "I agree wholeheartedly!"
Asked today whether some of Trump's rhetoric might have contributed to the mailings, Senator Orrin Hatch, (R), defended the President's remarks.
"A lot of things could have contributed to that, Hatch said. "Our society has become fairly complex. We think people ought to moderate on both sides."
He added, "I don't see anything really wrong with the President. I think that, you know, he's in a tough position, he's attacked on all sides and he ought to be able to express himself."
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: "We condemn the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and other public figures. These terrorising acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. The United States Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies are investigating and will take all appropriate actions to protect anyone threatened by these cowards."
Just an FYI: in the last month Trump has called Democrats “arsonists,” “evil people,” & “too dangerous to govern,” and accused them of seeking to “destroy American prosperity” and “unleash violent predators & killers.” https://t.co/g13255dBDU
— Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) October 24, 2018
Trump's highest-profile adult children echoed the statements emanating from the White House. Donald Trump jnr, the President's eldest son and campaign-trail surrogate for Republican candidates, tweeted: "As someone whose family has directly been the victim of these mail threats I condemn whoever did this regardless of party or ideology. This crap has to stop and I hope they end up in jail for a long time."
His sister, Ivanka Trump, a senior adviser in the White House, tweeted a condemnation of her own: "I strongly condemn the attempted acts of violence against President Obama, the Clinton family, @CNN & others. There is no excuse - America is better than this. Gratitude to the @SecretService and law enforcement for all they do to keep this nation safe."
Senator Marco Rubio, (R), tweeted: "An attack on an American who happens to be a Democrat, Republican or Independent is an attack on America. The terrorist behind this will soon find out that while a free people have politics that are conflictive, if you try to kill any of us you will have to face all of us."
Democratic leaders issued similar denunciations.
JUST IN: Photo obtained by @ABC shows device recovered from CNN by the NYPD bomb squad. https://t.co/U4rVcvGxWW pic.twitter.com/NUo7PPGSGK
— ABC News (@ABC) October 24, 2018
Senator Elizabeth Warren, (D), a possible 2020 presidential candidate and a regular target of Trump's attacks, tweeted: "Violence against private citizens, public officials and media organisations has no place in our democracy. I am thankful for the bold and swift action of law enforcement to ensure no one was hurt."
Law enforcement investigators have not yet disclosed information about the origin of the pipe bombs or the motivations of their sender or senders. No evidence has surfaced connecting the acts to any political campaign.
Trump has long assailed the targets of the packages. He regularly excoriates Obama's presidency and was a leading proponent of the false conspiracy theory that the nation's first black president was not born in the United States. Despite defeating Clinton in the 2016 election, Trump still goes after his former foe in his speeches, inspiring chants from his rally crowds to "Lock her up!"
Trump also routinely attacks CNN as "fake news," while his rally crowds regularly chant "CNN sucks!" Soros has long been a target of far-right groups and the subject of conspiracy theories with anti-Semitic overtones.
In recent weeks, Trump and other Republicans have tried to cast Democrats as the party of the "mob" and attempted to link specific candidates to radical figures on the left.
Five consequences for Donald Trump if everything goes wrong in November midterms https://t.co/PHzAXXdPfI
— The Independent (@Independent) October 24, 2018
In Minnesota's rural 1st District, the National Republican Congressional Committee repeatedly has tied Dan Feehan, an Army veteran who received the Bronze Star, to leftist Antifa activists who've clashed with right-wing protesters and police.
"Feehan works at a liberal organisation bankrolled by George Soros, chief financier of the global left and anti-American causes," a narrator says in one spot as the sound of smashing glass plays over images of anarchist protesters.
An NRCC ad in Michigan's eighth district begins with a clip of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, (D), asking why there "aren't uprisings" happening across the country, then cuts to footage of violent protesters smashing windows and peaceful protesters chanting outside the Supreme Court.
"It's gone on too long: Liberal extremists tearing America apart," says a narrator, warning that electing Democratic nominee Elissa Slotkin, a veteran of Obama's State Department, would put radicals in power.
Pelosi's reference to "uprisings" came from a June news conference on Trump's "zero tolerance" immigration policy. She suggested that voters should be outraged by images of children of undocumented immigrants being separated from their parents.
They are still keeping us all evacuated and across 9th Avenue — amazing response from @nypd. @CNN @jimsciutto @CNNnewsroom pic.twitter.com/z9vyfH7q20
— Poppy Harlow (@PoppyHarlowCNN) October 24, 2018
Footage of protests during the confirmation battle of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, which led to hundreds of arrests but no violence, has appeared less frequently in Republican ads than footage of anarchists smashing windows or burning cars. While Republicans have said the treatment of Kavanaugh fired up their base at the start of the October, some say the electorate has begun moving on.
"The Kavanaugh thing caused a little flutter, but that frankly appears to have dissipated in the polls," said Congressman Stevan Pearce, (R), who is running for governor in New Mexico, where the president remains unpopular.
The protests and the accusations against Kavanaugh do play prominently in a national ad from Future45, which is being seen less frequently in swing seats than the NRCC spots.
"The screaming. The violence. The smears," a narrator says. "Voting for any Democrat gets you all of that."
The uneasy alliance of parties forming the government is on the verge of collapse.