Posted on 10/09/2004 9:25:07 PM PDT by crushelits
Press video screen to view movie or press here: http://www.krd1.com/quicktime/bush_sign.mov
Men videotaped vandalizing sign. Summit elections official catches culprits tearing down Bush-Cheney poster Two men who tore down a Bush-Cheney sign and urinated on it were caught on videotape by Summit County Republican officials early Friday morning. The videotape shows the men sneaking into the yard of a West Market Street home and bending the sign to the ground. The men struggled to rip the sign out of the ground by shaking it and pulling it but couldn't get it off the posts, so they knocked it down. Sounds heard on the tape suggest the men urinated on the sign. They were white males, about 30 to 35 years old, well-dressed and well-groomed. They parked across the street in what police think was a foreign car, a Toyota or Honda. The homeowner, Steve Kotsatos, who is also assistant to the director of the Summit County Board of Elections, called Akron police dispatchers at 10:38 a.m. Friday and told them about how his campaign sign was vandalized. He said he caught the vandals on a night-vision camera he had installed the day before. ``A couple of days ago my neighbor's sign was set on fire with a blowtorch so I figured I might be next,'' Kotsatos said. ``This is not only criminal damaging but a safety hazard.'' The large 4-by-8-foot, red, white and blue sign was tipped over in Kotsatos' yard about 1 a.m. Friday. John Kerry's name was scrawled across Bush's name in black marker on one side of the sign -- the work of previous vandals, Kotsatos said. He discovered the bent sign at 6:45 a.m. Police took a report of the incident and retrieved a copy of the videotape to review. No arrests have been made. Akron police Lt. Sylvia Trundle said depending on the amount of damage -- officials estimate the sign's value at $200 to $400 -- the culprits could be charged with vandalism, but if the value is $500 or more they could face criminal damaging or criminal mischief charges. They are all misdemeanors and would carry a maximum sentence of six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. Local Republicans and Democrats say the stealing and damaging of campaign signs has been worse this presidential race than in past races. In some cases, the signs have been shredded and burned. According to the Summit County Republican Party, about 3,000 of the 4,000 signs the GOP has handed out supporting Bush and Cheney have been taken from yards or damaged. More than 1,000 signs backing Sen. Kerry, D-Mass., and running mate Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., have been taken from yards, according to the Summit County Democratic Party. Both parties deny taking part in any sign stealing. Even political leaders like Summit GOP Party Chairman Alex Arshinkoff and Summit Democratic Party Finance Chairman Wayne Jones have seen their signs targeted. Officials in Medina, Wayne and Portage counties also have reported thefts of campaign signs. Area police departments say they investigate sign theft complaints when they get them. They say it's best when a description of the vandals or their vehicle can be given. Kotsatos said he had a Bush sign in his yard four years ago and nobody bothered it. The Republican Party is looking into a possible $1,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the men.
I replaced my small sign after it was stolen with this one they will be hard pressed to steal this one as its attached to the back of my truck .
I may take you up on that Boxer.. where are you - Lake county I think..(freepmail me).. If I will be in the area or can easily swing a trip there with movie outing to Willoughby Hills or beach at Mentor Headlands, I will get a sign.
Been doing some front yard spruce up for sign actually. dont want one of our POTUS signs in front of a "sanford & son" locale ! :)
Just bring along a few hundred Bush bumperstickers. And at every place you park, slap a 10-20 Bush stickers on the cars around you (preferably over the Kerry stickers). Then you'll have camouflage and hopefully the SOB's will key a Kerry supporter's car.
:-)
Great, proactive idea. Should keep everyone out of jail. :')
I am happy to see that there are many more Bush bumper stickers and signs in my aggressively liberal Florida town this year than last election. The more there are, the safer it is. For one thing, they think twice about vandalizing a car or home if they're afraid that there are a lot of pro-Bush folks about who might see them. They're emboldended if they see only Kerry signs.
I have lost a number of Bush yard signs already; the Dems generally simply steal them and don't do anything to your house, though, because it's much more likely that they'll be caught if they commit real property damage. All of the Bush signs in my neighborhood were stolen two nights ago, along with the Martinez (GOP Senatorial candidate) signs. But that's all the more reason to go out and get more, and to report even the theft of your yard signs (which I believe is a felony in some states) to the police.
I'm curious... are there any reports of bush supporters destroying kerry signs? Anyone know the numbers compared to kerry supports damaging Bush signs? I wonder if it's an even split, or if it's all being done by the dem followers. I think I'll google it and find out. :)
There are many reports that have been posted right here in FR. You'll need to do some searching. Many of these posts have been posted in the last couple of days.
5.56mm
Ya. I just ran through google and it seems it's happening on both sides... Well, slightly differently.... Peple who damage bush signs tend to want to burn them down or rip and destroy... where as the other side of the coin has people replacing kerry signs with bush signs. It seems to be a problem for both sides... But keying cars adn damaging property seems to be only an anti-bush thing. And it seems for every 5 bush signs stolen or destroyed, theres only one kerry sign stolen. Interesting.
Is this a violation of the Hate Crime statute?
Now THATs a sign! Where do I get a sign like that?! I love the internet. Webcams, too! Heh heh. Pressing charges anyone?
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Political Operative Veterans Against George W. Bush (POVAGWB) Meeting: Mr. Kerry Reports (Serious Parody):
“When I attended a POVAGWB meeting recently, I heard testimony from Campaign Operative Veterans that they had:
• Cut off the locks and bashed in doors of regional Republic Campaign Headquarters
• Raped and defiled various Republican office machines
• Randomly shot weapons into Republican Campaign Headquarters
• Defiled US Mail delivered to the Republican Regional Campaign Headquarters
• Razed Republican campaign offices across the country in the manner reminiscent of Genghis Kahn
• Had bleeding gums reminiscent of gingivitis
• Destroyed foodstuffs found in campaign office refrigerators
• Kicked their dogs
• Urinated on Republican campaign signs
• Used large union thugs to destroy GWB campaign signs held by three-year-old girls
• Told story after story of falsely accusing Republicans the gruesome act of denying minorities the right to vote
• Committed other violent campaign atrocities under the tacit control and support of the DNC commanders”
Mr. Kerry denies being at a DNC meeting where these tactics were discussed and planned, but witness say he was there. Others are accusing him of meeting with Carl Rove in an attempt to end the campaign early and declare GWB the winner.
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You are defining Pacific Northwest much too broadly. Your Bush signs would be perfectly safe here in eastern Washington
You are correct. There are pockets around here that are ok too. I'm so close to Ft. Lewis and McChord, I can practically toss a ball over the fence from my house. My yard sign hasn't been touched, and so far, my car is ok too. It's just so rampant.... the hatred.... the criminal behavior. Makes me sick.
19 blew this story, and I won't ever watch them again.
They must have left their DNA.
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