State Rep. Karl Bohnak, R-Deerton, on Wednesday released the following statement after a failed attempt to firebomb the Dickinson County Republican Party Headquarters. Police apprehended the suspected arsonist after reviewing video evidence of the individual attempting to light and ultimately throwing an unlit Molotov Cocktail at the building.

“There are few events as disheartening and dangerous as attempts to change minds through violence. This attack in Dickinson County was a gross misconstruing of how we create change in our country. Violence like this has no place in the U.P., Michigan, or our country.

“Something must change. We have to start treating each other with more kindness and respect and realize that guns and bombs are not the tools needed to create change in our country. Just a few months ago, an assassin took the lives of a respected political leader in Minnesota, their spouse, and attempted to take the lives of many more. There are far too many examples of similar political violence that have occurred in our country in recent years.

“The responsibility to change course falls on us all. We must reject political violence and reembrace kindness and respect in our everyday lives. Policy differences may divide us, but at the end of the day, we are all united as Americans.”

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