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"Fairfield Democrats and Republicans united in condemnation of an incident Friday in which a pro-Trump Westport man verbally assaulted a volunteer at the Fairfield Democratic Town Committee headquarters. Fairfield police arrested Michael Silverstein, 61, Friday and charged him with second degree breach of peace. Despite being asked to leave multiple times, Silverstein continued yelling at the volunteer and as she took out her phone to take a picture of him, he slapped it out of her hand, according to a police report. When he got back in his car, the volunteer managed to take a photo of his license plate. Silverstein allegedly told her, “Go ahead. I’ll come back and kill you.” In a joint statement about the incident, Steven Sheinberg, the chairman of the Fairfield Democratic Town Committee, and Jack Testani, chairman of the Fairfield Republican Town Committee, said that town Democrats and Republicans “unequivocally denounce such behavior and call for civility in all political discourse throughout the 2020 campaign season and beyond.” Fairfield First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick, a Republican, said in a statement that she strongly condemned the incident: “These types of actions, intolerance, and incivility have no place in our community.\" She added that she had directed the Fairfield Police Department to increase their presence near the Fairfield DTC headquarters. With Election Day just five weeks away, the political anxieties and vitriol surrounding the election seem to be reaching a fever pitch for both supporters of President Donald Trump and those of former Vice President Joe Biden. On the same day that Silverstein was arrested, police in Shelton charged a man with second-degree criminal mischief for spray-painting the word “dump” over two Trump signs, according to the Connecticut Post. Few presidential elections in American history parallel this year’s election, the outcome of which many voters fear could lead to violence and widespread unrest, said Ronald Schurin, an associate professor of political science at UConn. (A notable exception: Abraham Lincoln’s victory in the 1860 presidential election, which prompted several states to secede and form the Confederate States of America.) The Republican candidate in the 5th Congressional District, David X. Sullivan, has warned of rioting in the affluent suburbs surrounding Hartford in an election that is a “war on socialism.” A violent clash between Trump supporters and Black Lives Matter activists in Portland, Oregon left one man dead last month. “This is a very intense time and what is particularly troubling is there’s a belief that people who aren’t on your side are inherently evil or stupid and we have not seen that in most other campaigns,” Schurin said. Silverstein, a retired chiropractor, said Monday that he became incensed when he drove past a series of Joe Biden campaign signs near the Fairfield DTC headquarters Friday. “I just [expletive] snapped,\" he said. \"I screamed and I yelled and I cursed these little old ladies. You have no idea how horrific I feel. As much as I want liberals to see what we Trump supporters face on a daily basis, it was little old ladies, man. ...I called them every filthy name in the book.” Silverstein approached the DTC headquarters at 1 Sasco Hill Road around 4 p.m. Friday, according to the police report. A volunteer at the headquarters asked if he needed help and Silverstein immediately launched into a long profanity-laden “verbal assault” and “claimed that Trump supporters are being attacked across the country,” the report said. Following the incident at the Fairfield DTC headquarters, police quickly identified Silverstein through DMV records and found him at his home in Westport later that afternoon. When questioned about the incident, he admitted to the altercation at the DTC headquarters. Silverstein complained Monday that he cannot wear a Trump hat for fear of “getting punched in the face” and that he anticipates riots across the country if Trump is reelected in November. “No matter what side of the aisle you’re on, I think we can all say that everyone is angry,” he said. “I hear we’re causing all these problems and yet I see all the riots coming from the left, Black Lives Matter, Antifa.” Silverstein said he believes that if Biden wins the White House, there “will be a peaceful transition but in six months to a year you won’t recognize this place.” In the past week, Trump has repeatedly declined to commit to a peaceful transition of power if he loses the election. Silverstein was issued a misdemeanor summons and is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Bridgeport on Nov. 5. The Fairfield Democrats said in a Facebook post Friday that their volunteers, “though shaken, are safe following this extremely upsetting event.” Sheinberg, chairman of the Fairfield Democrats, said Monday, “We will not stop calling out the president for his reckless condoning of violence and vitriol from his supporters, but our unified response to this particular event was not the time to do so.” Testani, chairman of the Fairfield Republicans, emphasized Monday that “in the current state of today’s political and economic climate, many people are struggling with anxiety, depression and at times display inappropriate behavior.” He added that while the Fairfield Republicans did not condone the incident, the organization hopes that “the individual involved who seemed contrite learns the political process can be invigorating when viewed through a positive lens.” Eliza Fawcett can be reached at elfawcett@courant.com."
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