NORFOLK, Va. — They knocked on her door, then they tried to intimidate her.
A Norfolk woman, Clair Berube said two men wearing hooded sweaters knocked on her door Friday night. When she and her son answered, they asked whether or not they planned to vote in the upcoming midterm elections.
"We both said yes," said Berube.
Her son noticed one of the men was recording her response on his cell phone. Then, they walked off of her porch.
But before they left, one of them said: "Don't vote for that (expletive) Elaine Luria."
The term he used to describe the Congressional candidate, who is Jewish, was anti-Semitic.
Berube said the interaction was menacing and it startled her.
"I felt a little invaded, was that a threat?" said Berube.
"You know just trying to figure out, put it into context with what's going on in the world today."
It's not clear if other homeowners were also approached by the same men, but during a political rally in Virginia Beach Saturday night, Luria said she's disappointed to hear about the incident and other recent acts against the Jewish community.
"It's very unfortunate in 2018 that we have this kind of division in the country and this hatred and polarization," said Luria.
“I feel that people know that when they go vote on Tuesday that they're really voting for the future of our country.”
13News Now reached out to her opponent, Rep. Scott Taylor about what happened.
Taylor provided this statement to 13News Now:
Antisemitism and hate have zero place in a civil society. The alleged behavior we were made aware of is appalling and I condemn it in the strongest possible way.
The threat did not appear to be associated with any specific campaign or political party and it’s unclear if the two men are associate with a hate group.
“It’s not about Republican versus Democrat, it's about voter intimidation,” said Berube.
Berube said she reported the incident to police. We reached out to them about the incident, but they have not yet confirmed whether or not they’re investigating it.
