The campaign director for Republican Rep. Bob Good of Virginia says she called police to a recent event in which, she said, pro-Trump supporters of his primary opponent were harassing the lawmaker.
“They were shouting and waving signs, and when asked to respect the congressman’s personal space, they refused,” Diana Shores told The Washington Times. “So I called the police to let them know there was an issue.”
The incident occurred Saturday in Farmville, Virginia, when Mr. Good was kicked out of a store that was hosting a “pro-Trump” event with his GOP primary opponent, state Sen. John McGuire, as the headlining guest.
Mr. Good was forced to leave the event in his district at the grand opening of the store dedicated to former President Donald Trump. The lawmaker has been criticized by some Republicans for previously endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the GOP presidential primary before ultimately switching to back Mr. Trump.
Former Appomattox County GOP Chair Karen Angulo, who opened the storefront as a “show of support” for Mr. Trump, said that Mr. McGuire was invited as a special guest for the shop’s grand opening, but not Mr. Good.
Ms. Angulo said that Mr. Good was told the night before the event that he was not welcome, but that he showed up uninvited and attempted to “make the day about himself.”
“I repeatedly asked Bob to leave. Once he finally relented and left our store, Bob and his paid campaign staff stood out front for over four hours trying to block people from entering our store,” Ms. Angulo said. “The whole thing was very embarrassing behavior for anyone, let alone a sitting member of Congress.”
Ms. Shores said that Mr. Good, chair of the House Freedom Caucus, had been invited via text the day before, and that the message said Mr. McGuire would be there gathering signatures for his campaign in the afternoon.
The intention, she said, was to avoid the time that Mr. McGuire was supposed to be there. But when they arrived in the morning, the storefront was plastered with campaign signs for Mr. McGuire, who was inside the shop.
“It was clear to Congressman Good that this was a McGuire campaign event masquerading as a Trump store event for the purposes of getting folks to sign Mr. McGuire’s petitions,” she said.
The Daily Caller reported that Mr. Good’s campaign called the police on Trump supporters outside of the store. In an audio recording of the call, Ms. Shores told police that four young men were “getting belligerent” and were in Mr. Good’s “personal space.”
Mr. McGuire has styled himself as a true supporter of the former president while contending that Mr. Good has consistently opposed Mr. Trump’s agenda.
“Never Trumper Bob Good opposed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2024, and MAGA Patriots across the 5th District are rightfully standing up to him. I’m running to get Donald Trump’s Save America agenda passed and serve We the People,” Mr. McGuire said. “Bob is proving that he’s only in office to serve his own political ambitions, and people are clearly sick of it.”
Mr. Good has faced blowback for his endorsement of Mr. DeSantis’ now-defunct bid for the presidency. He has said he was not opposed to Mr. Trump but preferred a GOP candidate who could serve eight years, compared to the four that the ex-president would be allowed to serve if he were to win in November.
When Mr. DeSantis dropped out of the race, Mr. Good switched and endorsed the ex-president, who is the GOP’s prohibitive favorite for the presidential nomination.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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