Maine Secretary of State Hits Back at Critics After Home ‘Swatted’

Maine's Secretary of State Sheena Bellows is pushing back against critics of her decision to keep Donald Trump off the ballot of the state's Republican presidential primary ballot in March after her home was the target of a "swatting" incident.

Maine State Police said a man called the Augusta Regional Communication Center, claiming to be inside her Manchester home.  Responding officers to the call checked the entire property and found the home empty. Bellows and her husband were not home at the time.

"This behavior is unacceptable. The non-stop threatening communications the people who work for me endured all day yesterday is unacceptable. It’s designed to scare not only me but also others into silence, to send a message. I am so grateful to have such an amazing team of employees at the Department of Secretary of State. Brandon and I are grateful for incredible, dedicated support from law enforcement in this time. They’ve been amazing," Bellows wrote on her Facebook page Saturday.

She also called out The Maine Wire news site for "posting extraordinarily dehumanizing fake images" of her as a way to pave the way for attacks and violence against her.

"These dehumanizing images and threatening communications directed at me and people I love are dangerous. We should be able to agree to disagree on important issues without threats and violence. So my friends, please let’s channel love, respect and kindness and stand up for those Maine values that have always made our state the way life should be. I love you and am grateful for you," Bellows wrote.

Disenfranchised Voters

Bellows is facing a call for her impeachment by state representative John Andrews (R-79th District) who told Fox News on Saturday she is selected by "party insiders", which makes the position political.

"She should be going out of her way to be non-partisan but with this edict Bellows has unilaterally disenfranchised 300,060 Maine voters with this partisan move," Andrews said.

On Thursday, Bellows ruled the former president ineligible for the March 5 primary on the grounds he engaged in insurrection as defined by Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment. The ruling will not take effect, pending the appeals process and rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via X (Twitter) @DanAlexanderNH