Tom Williams/Congressional Quarterly via ZUMA
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) called the local police department in response to a pro-choice chalk message outside her home in Bangor, Maine on Saturday. The Bangor Daily News reported the incident Monday without naming who called the police. A copy of the police report shared with Mother Jones confirms the complainant was Collins.
The note outside the senator’s home was not menacing, but polite, and written in multiple colors of chalk: “Susie, please, Mainers want WHPA —–> vote yes, clean up your mess,” it said.
The message refers to the Women’s Health Protection Act, legislation that aims to protect abortion rights nationwide. The Senate will vote on the bill Wednesday in light of the leaked draft Supreme Court opinion that indicates the court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade. The local public works department was called to wash the chalk away.
“We are grateful to the Bangor police officers and the City public works employee who responded to the defacement of public property in front of our home,” Collins told the Bangor Daily News.
Collins’ staff could not be immediately reached for comment about why she felt a need to call the police. She has said the WHPA legislation is too broad and that she intends to vote against it.
