WASHINGTON — The stunt had all the trappings of a high school prank: cheeky if innocuous intentions, a lack of foresight and authority figures called in at the end to deal with the antics.
But on Thursday, the mischief maker in question was the House Republican campaign arm, and the prank — delivering empty cardboard moving boxes to Democratic lawmakers topped with bows and bearing the handwritten message “Get Packing!” — prompted the United States Capitol Police to investigate.
The cartons arrived in offices on Capitol Hill not long after the House voted, almost entirely along party lines, to lay out rules for the impeachment inquiry into President Trump.
Democrats pushed the measure through the House over unanimous Republican opposition, a move that Republicans fervently hope can be weaponized against Democrats in the coming elections. It is yet another way, they believe, to target the most politically vulnerable Democrats in conservative-leaning districts, by painting them as beholden to the party’s left flank and preoccupied with removing the president.
And so on Thursday, officials at the National Republican Congressional Committee saw an opportunity. They dispatched aides to land what they thought would be a creative and lighthearted jab at about a dozen of the so-called front-line Democrats, making special deliveries with their gloating message.
But in post-9/11 Washington, a hand-delivered package to a member of Congress at an office only steps away from the United States Capitol — bearing nothing but a bow and the name of the recipient scrawled in black marker — counts as a national security risk, and is treated accordingly.
The Capitol Police became involved. Do not touch this package or anything like it in the future, one officer instructed a congressional aide whose boss received one of the boxes. Call the police instead.
It is not clear how many boxes were delivered or how many Capitol Police officers were dispatched to attend to them, though at least 10 Democratic offices reported receiving one. A spokeswoman for the Capitol Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The prank, which rapidly circulated on Twitter, angered Democrats and left some Republicans on Capitol Hill privately rolling their eyes. Three Democratic members of Congress, Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California, as well as Representative Maxine Waters of California, were among the critics of Mr. Trump who were sent inoperative pipe bombs last year by a man who said he was motivated by his anger at Democrats.
“I cannot figure out why anyone would think it’s funny to leave suspicious packages for Members of Congress,” Representative Jennifer Wexton, Democrat of Virginia, wrote on Twitter after receiving her package in a shiny red bow. “Thank you to the Capitol Police for keeping us safe, and sorry your time was wasted on such an irresponsible and reckless stunt.”
The Republican campaign arm stood by the prank, and suggested that Democrats should get used to such tactics as the impeachment fight unfolds.
“We had no idea empty cardboard boxes would be such a traumatic and triggering event for these soon-to-be defeated Democrats,” Chris Pack, the group’s spokesman, said in a statement. “They should buckle their chin straps because November 2020 will be even more traumatic for them once they’re thrown out of office thanks to their impeachment obsession.”
House Democrats’ campaign arm quickly tried to turn the tables on what Republicans had hoped would be a viral moment for them. Cole Leiter, their spokesman, told Republicans in a statement that Democrats who received the boxes would “turn your hilarious prank into a force for good” and use them for a Thanksgiving food drive.
Sending Democrats snarky gifts intended to draw the spotlight has become something of a calling card for the Republican campaign arm. After the executive director of House Democrats’ campaign arm resigned in July after internal criticism about the committee’s diversity efforts, they sent balloons tied to a box of Kleenex to the Democratic National Headquarters. In March, they sent a gift basket to the Tennessee home of the husband of Representative Lucy McBath, Democrat of Georgia, in an attempt to prove she is not a Georgia resident.
The incident on Thursday is not the first time an effort by the campaign arm to paint vulnerable Democrats in a bad light has backfired and prompted widespread condemnation. In September, a committee aide posted a screenshot from the Instagram account of Amanda Cunningham, who is married to Representative Joe Cunningham, where she had posted a tweet from Beto O’Rourke, at the time a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, supporting the impeachment of Mr. Trump.
“Looks like Mrs. Cunningham likes a man who supports baseless impeachment…wonder if this will come up in @RepCunningham’s marriage counseling?” an aide wrote on the committee’s official Twitter account. The comment referred to an earlier Instagram post in which Ms. Cunningham announced it was “mind-blowing” that congressional health insurance did not cover services like couples’ therapy.
Republicans joined Democrats in condemning the post, but Mr. Cunningham had the last word.
“Amanda is my rock — and the @NRCC just hit rock bottom,” he wrote. “I respect my wife and all women, y’all should give it a try. Let’s show them there’s a price for living in the gutter.”
Twenty-four hours later, according to his campaign, the Democrat had raised over $50,000 off that post alone.