Rep. Michael Grimm is calling vandalism and the erasure of computer drives at his campaign headquarters over the weekend a “politically motivated” crime. 
 
 “Whoever did this, the people responsible are very ignorant, and they don’t understand that this is not just an attack against me or my campaign,” Grimm, a freshman, told the Staten Island Advance. “This is an attack against a federal campaign office, which is an attack on our democracy as a whole. It’s an attack against what we stand for, for free elections.” 
 
 Text Size - 
 
 + 
 
 reset 
 
 Grimm, who is the target of a federal investigation involving campaign fundraising, is running for reelection against Democrat Mark Murphy. A Murphy spokesman condemned the break-in. 
 
 Grimm said he believes the break-in is part of a pattern, which he tied to the thefts of lawn signs and a recent mysterious computer shutdown in the middle of the night. 
 
 “In fact, one officer said to me today they see this as a crime against the government, because I am a sitting United States congressman and they take it very seriously. You know, especially in light of what happened with Gabby Giffords, we’re not in the world today where we can shrug things off,” Grimm said. “Violence is violence. Throwing large stones and concrete through the window is an act of violence, and we’ve got to take it seriously.” 
 
 Linux, an open-source operating system, was installed on Grimm’s computers, erasing the hard drive contents, which included polling and voter identification data. But staff had backed up the hard drive contents hours beforehand. Grimm and his staffers said the vandalism — cement blocks were thrown through the office’s windows — is a cover-up for the attacks on the computers. 
 
 Police sources told the New York Daily News there was no sign of forced entry at Grimm’s headquarters, and said the case is being investigated as an act of criminal mischief, not a burglary. ||||| Grimm fairy tale? S.I. pol sees cybergate in HQ burglary A little bit of Watergate intrigue as Rep. Michael Grimm's office appears to have been broken into over the weekend 
 
 Rep. Michael Grim, under a federal probe for alleged campaign finance violation, says vandals broke into his campaign office and erased computers. 
 
 Republican Rep. Michael Grimm says politically motivated vandals broke into his campaign headquarters on Staten Island and erased some computers — but cops aren’t so sure. 
 
 Campaign workers said they found cinder blocks hurled through the windows of the Hylan Blvd. office late Sunday morning and later discovered a computer hard-drive containing campaign files and polling data had been erased. 
 
 Grimm, a former FBI agent who is facing an ongoing federal probe into illegal fundraising activity, charged foul play. 
 
 "I do believe this is a politically motivated crime," said the freshman lawmaker in a statement. "This is a disgraceful act of cowardice that is beneath the people I represent." 
 
 Police said they had found no evidence of forced entry at the campaign headquarters. Cops are investigating the allegation as an act criminal mischief and not burglary, sources said. 
 
 Grimm is in a close race with Democrat Mark Murphy.
– The campaign office of Michael Grimm, a Republican congressman from Staten Island, has suffered a break-in, with the windows smashed by cinderblocks and computer hard drives erased, Politico reports. Grimm claims the attack was "politically motivated. This is an attack against a federal campaign office, which is an attack on our democracy as a whole." His computers, with polling data and voter ID materials, had recently been backed up. But in a puzzling twist, police are apparently skeptical about Grimm's take on the case: They're investigating the matter as criminal mischief rather than burglary, the New York Daily News reports, saying they found no indication of forced entry.