Massachusetts Republicans condemned threats and a 911 hoax made against a Cape Cod restaurant after it hosted an event for two GOP candidates.
Montano’s Restaurant in North Truro hosted the event for Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue and Republican congressional candidate Tyler Macallister on Wednesday, September 16.
The restaurant later received hate mail and online threats. One person wrote, “Hope your building burns down,” restaurant owner Ed Medeiros told the Boston Herald.
Two days after the event, someone called 911 claiming that a pregnant woman got lost in the woods near the restaurant and had gone into labor.
The call sent police, firefighters, emergency vehicles and a Massachusetts State Police helicopter to the area. Emergency workers never found the woman. Authorities later realized the call was a hoax.
Medeiros said the disruption cost his business between $1,500 and $2,000.
He said the restaurant rents space to many groups and that he doesn't discriminate based on political views. He also said that letting a group use the restaurant doesn't mean the business supports a group’s views.
Massachusetts Republican Party chairwoman Amy Carnevale called for a full investigation of the threats and the fake emergency call.
“A Cape Cod restaurant served as a venue for a lawful gathering for two candidates running for political office,” Carnevale said in a press release. “For that, Montano’s in Truro received hate mail, threats that the building should burn down, and a hoax 911 call that sent emergency vehicles and a State Police helicopter to a fake emergency designed to interfere with restaurant operations.”
Carnevale added that letting a candidate host an event at a restaurant isn't a political endorsement from the owner.
“The owner has said Montano’s rents its space to many groups and does not discriminate based on political views,” Carnevale said. “Providing a venue for an event designed to foster free association is not an endorsement. It is a private business doing what a free country allows.
“Now reverse the parties,” Carnevale later added. “If Democrats had hosted that event and then faced the same threats and a fake 911 call, the same voices would demand a full investigation. They would be right. The standard should not change because the candidates were Republicans.”
Carnevale wants law enforcement to find and charge whoever made the threats and the fake call.
“The Massachusetts Republican Party calls for a full investigation of the threats and the hoax call,” Carnevale said. “Charge the people who did this. And every elected official who lectures the country about democracy should say, without hedging, that a small business may host any lawful political event without being punished for it. If that principle only applies when Democrats are in the room, it is not a principle. It is a racket.”
Minogue also condemned the harassment.
“In Massachusetts, this is not who we are,” Minogue told the Herald. “We are neighbors, not political enemies.”
Macallister said other restaurants refused to host his event. He said one restaurant claimed that it didn't host political events, even though it previously held one for a Democratic state senator.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton also wants authorities to investigate the incident and charge whoever made the fake call.
“What happened to Montano’s is not politics,” Deaton said in a press release. “It is intimidation of a small business, and it is a dangerous waste of emergency resources.”
Deaton said the fake call hurt restaurant workers and wasted first responders' time.
“A local restaurant hosted a lawful fundraiser,” Deaton said. “In return, its owners and staff got hate mail, threats, and a fake emergency call. Workers lost income. First responders were pulled away from real emergencies and used as props in someone’s grudge.”
Deaton said he'd feel the same way if people did this to a business that hosted Democratic candidates.
“You don’t punish a cook, a server, or an owner because you dislike their customers,” Deaton said. “And you never tie up ambulances and police with a lie.”