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Congressman calls for civility amid bomb investigation

36 views · Published 30 October 2018 · 2:47 · Indexed 25 September 2026

Channel: LOCAL 12 · 2018 · News & Politics

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CINCINNATI (WKRC) - As the FBI and other federal agencies investigate pipe bombs that were sent to Democratic politicians and supporters, Republicans in the Cincinnati area said Thursday that violence and threats have no place in society.

Republican Congressman Brad Wenstrup (OH-2) has seen firsthand what can happen when a person takes politics to the extreme. Wenstrup and other Republican members of Congress were practicing for a charity baseball game in the Summer of 2017 when a man started shooting. Congressman Steve Scalise and others were wounded. Wenstrup helped the injured and Capitol Police killed the shooter.

"Go ahead and stick up for what you believe in but do it in a civil way," Wenstrup said. "We're supposed to debate. We're supposed to go back and forth with the sharing ideas and hopefully come up with best practices. That should be the process that takes place. But so many people have put the politics ahead of in my opinion, God, family and country."

Wenstrup said he's been threatened since taking office but didn't want to elaborate on the threats for security reasons.

"When appropriate Secret Service has actually in this district, gone to two people's home to have a little chat with them about things they've put on social media and said that appear to be life-threatening," Wenstrup recalled.

Local, state and federal law enforcement officials and analysts are constantly watching for threats at the Greater Cincinnati Fusion Center.

"Whenever an event like this occurs, we are on heightened alert," Major Mike Hartzler said.

Major Hartzler said Thursday there are currently no credible threats in the region. He and his team exchange and gather intelligence with 78 other Fusion Centers across the country in an effort to keep people safe. He said things have changed with the advent of social media.

"I've noticed there's more of a mob mentality and so from time-to-time things have happened over the past several years," Major Hartzler said. "This country, although we have disagreements, should not rise to that level."

Threats can be reported to the Greater Cincinnati Fusion Center at 513-263-8000 or by logging onto GCFC.org.

The U.S. Postal Inspector issued a statement Thursday that said teams had been assembled across the country to identify suspicious packages. The teams use tools including x-ray machines. The agency also released some tips for identifying the packages and handling them:

Isolate mail or parcels with suspicious leaks.
Cordon off the immediate area.
Call the Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 and state “emergency.”
Suspicious parcels can bear any of these characteristics:

Are unexpected or from someone unfamiliar to you
Are addressed to former employees or use improper job titles
Have no return address or cannot be verified as legitimate
Have unusual weight given the size, or are lopsided or leaking an unknown substance
Are marked with restrictive endorsements, such as “Personal” or “Confidential”
Have a city or state postmark that does not match the return address

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