The Republican party headquarters in Traverse City was evacuated Wednesday after a man came inside and issued a bomb threat.

It happened at about 3:15 p.m. at the party office in the Cherryland Center shopping mall. What started as run-of-the-mill complaints, according to Grand Traverse County party chairman John Roth, turned into a rant about conspiracy theories and comparing President Trump to Satan.

“They (staff and volunteers) really didn’t think anything of it until the bomb threat itself came out. When he said ‘I should bomb you guys’, that’s something you’ve gotta take serious today,” Roth said.

Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s deputies say the man ran off after making the threat, and officers arrived within minutes. They also brought a bomb-sniffing dog to search the area.

State Rep. Michele Hoitenga of Manton was in the area knocking on doors to get out the vote. She was troubled by the incident.

“It’s hard to know how serious these threats are. We don’t want it to deter us. We want to keep doing what we’re supposed to be doing,” Hoitenga said.

Hoitenga and other lawmakers we spoke with say it is symptomatic of a larger problem. “Public discourse is at an all-time high and it’s sad. We need to be able to civilly disagree, especially when it comes to politics.”

Congressman Jack Bergman, who represents Traverse City, agrees.

“This is not who we are as a country. We believe in civil discourse. It’s up to all of us to take a leadership role to be civil toward one another and to set the example,” Bergman said.

And State Rep. Larry Inman of Traverse City says it’s become an “ugly part of politics today,” adding that “it’s just reflective, I think, of how politics is viewed by many people today. It’s become very irritable and sometimes vicious and mean. It shouldn’t be that way.”

It’s the first time any of these party leaders can remember a threat in Grand Traverse County.

But last week someone vandalized the Republican headquarters in Lansing. Hoitenga is just thankful it’s almost over.

“It won’t deter us from going door to door but I can say I think everybody, the public, the legislators and the candidates especially are ready for November 6 to be here and be over,” Hoitenga said.