The Hill News

Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) called on fellow Republican lawmakers to condemn an attack against his district office, where an envelope containing toxic powder was sent.

Grijalva, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said that he thought he'd been targeted with "domestic terrorism" for his outspoken liberal stances on issues over the past two years.

"You know, I`m asking my Republican colleagues across the state to condemn this kind of domestic terrorism," Grijalva said Friday evening during an appearance on MSNBC. "But to add insult to injury, to bring threats, to bring intimidation into the process, it needs to be condemned for what it is. It`s domestic terrorism."

Grijalva has been targeted for defeat by Republicans during the closing weeks of the campaign. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has run an ad against Grijalva, who'd been thought before to be safe in his re-election effort, but has faced an upstart challenge from the GOP.

"I`m co-chair of the Progressive Caucus. I`m a convenient target," Grijalva said. "You take me down, you take down a philosophy and you take down a set of values that are in Congress right now."