EASTON, Md. — The battle for the White House playing out on front porches and lawns where Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler says those of opposing viewpoints have crossed the line, like a man caught on camera back in August.
“A car pulls up, a young man jumps out, runs up to the front porch of a home. These happen to be Trump signs. Took both signs down and then actually popped the bird to the camera, knew the camera was there, made an obscene gesture to the camera before fleeing,” recalled Gahler. “And then a couple of weeks later we actually had a bunch of Joe Biden signs damaged down in the Perryman area.”
But the marketing mayhem appeared to reach new heights over the weekend when reports came in from Easton in Talbot County of five Trump/Pence signs turning up with what appeared to be explosive devices taped to the back of them, prompting the bomb squad to respond.
“They later discovered that it was actually a small alarm that was actually located on the back of that and it operated by having a fishing line connected to it and whenever it was removed, it sounded the alarm,” said Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire.
Investigators say it appears the devices were simply meant to ward off any potential sign thieves and no criminal charges are forthcoming, but if nothing else, it certainly raised the exposure surrounding the signs.
“We’ve actually received multiple media inquiries from across the country about this just because of the political climate right now,” said Alkire. “It certainly sparks the interest, but what we do want to say is each one that was located, the people did the right thing.”
While the devices found in Easton proved to be harmless, police say if you see something, you should say something and report something like that to police so they can assess whether there’s a real threat.
