Posted on 09/07/2026 5:54:22 PM PDT by Red Badger
A conservative-leaning independent candidate in Columbus, Georgia, got tired of watching his campaign signs vanish. He hid Apple AirTags inside them.
The trackers did not ping a dumpster or a random yard. They led straight to the home of a well-known local reverend and her husband, a retired Columbus State University educator.
Stephen Acorn is running as an Independent write-in against longtime Democrat incumbent Debbie Buckner for Georgia House District 137.
After signs kept disappearing near Matthews Elementary School and County Line Road, Acorn cut open replacements, slipped AirTags inside, and waited.
“I feel like I outsmarted the perpetrator,” Acorn told NowGeorgia.com, which first reported the story.
Within 24 hours, Acorn received an alert showing that two of the signs were moving.
The tracking devices eventually led Acorn and police to the residence of retired Columbus State educator Richard Spencer Garrard and his wife, Rev. Dr. Cindy Cox Garrard.
According to the Columbus State University faculty catalog, Richard Garrard previously worked as a lecturer in middle-grades education. University archives also feature an oral-history interview covering his years as a student and faculty member at Columbus State.
Police responded to the couple’s home, where Garrard reportedly answered the door.
According to Acorn, the officer informed him that police knew the missing signs were at the residence and that they needed to be returned, or Acorn could press charges.
Four Acorn campaign signs were reportedly retrieved from the garbage at the residence and returned to the candidate.
Four signs!
The stunning footage resurfaced after Libs of TikTok shared the incident on X.
WATCH:
VIDEO AT LINK.....................
Cindy Garrard later appeared to accept responsibility for removing the signs while denying that her husband was involved.
Garrard also insisted she never removed a sign from private property.
In a statement to NowGeorgia, Garrard claimed she believed the signs had been illegally placed along a public right-of-way, so she removed them. She confirmed that the signs were later returned.
But here is where the story becomes even more outrageous.
More from NowGeorgia:
The write-in candidate shared election records showing Reverend Dr. Cindy Cox Garrard made a financial contribution to Debbie Buckner’s campaign. Acorn gave the couple several hours to apologize for the incident and said that he would keep their identities private. Acorn never got a response, so he uploaded a photo of Dr. Cindy Cox Garrard and her husband along with the caption “sign snatchers” to Facebook. Garrard posted beneath the photo “They” is me, not my husband. I never removed a sign from private property.”
When asked if he planned to pursue criminal charges Acorn responded “God shows us grace every single day and he commands us to do the same. It’s something I’m going to pray about.” He did submit an open records request for a copy of the body cam video of the responding police officer. Stealing campaign signs is a crime in Georgia punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a fine up to $1000.
Anytime you move and moving gets you closer to an officer it’s walking up on them. Especially when you have an attitude that’s bigger than your IQ. He walked out of his door towards the officer, then when confronted he puffed up his chest and walked even closer. Why are you defending that looser? That’s the question you should ask yourself.
“Anytime you move and moving gets you closer to an officer it’s walking up on them. Especially when you have an attitude that’s bigger than your IQ.“
I think that’s the kind of response I wanted originally, troubling as it is. If the first sentence defined ”walking up on them” which you shouldn’t do, then you can’t pass them on the street or in an aisle at the grocery or exit the store if they are by the door, or approach them to report a crime or ask directions or tell them their fly is open, or much of anything. The second sentence is kind of subjective. I wonder how they write this into law.
“Why are you defending that looser?“
I don’t believe I defended him and I don’t disagree that he’s a “looser”, and probably his wife too.
At least you provided a better response to my original post.
Walking by them on the street when they aren’t questioning you about your potential criminal activity isn’t the same as aggressively walking towards then when they are asking you about a crime you potentially committed. No problem with the first, huge problem with the second.
So you changed your mind?
No. We were talking about the specific situation where the guy was being questioned.abd walked up.on the officer.
You brought up meeting an officer on the street or in a grocery store later.
“No. We were talking about the specific situation where the guy was being questioned.and walked up on the officer.”
We were talking about your word “anytime” and now you’re changing it to “specific situation”.
And using the words “walked up on” here isn’t helpful. They are what I wanted explained to begin with. Recall my questions at the start were “What’s this “ walk up on a cop” stuff? What is “Walking up on a cop”?”. (And they are questions that apply to “anywhere” not just this specific situation.)
“You brought up meeting an officer on the street or in a grocery store later.”
As examples of “anytime” because you wrote “anytime”.
Bless your heart.
All you seem to be doing is feeding me crap that is useless. And maybe redirecting the flow of the conversation so you can play “I win”.
Bless your heart, you poor child.
Bless your heart, you poor child.
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