Yes, Susan Collins Actually Called the Cops Over a Sidewalk Chalk Message. I Got the Police Report.

The pro-abortion-rights chalker was polite—they even said “please.”

Tom Williams/Congressional Quarterly via ZUMA

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

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.

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate