Residents report campaign signs vandalized, stolen

Christine Mann is a DFL supporter and had displayed campaign signs on her yard on West Lincoln for Joe Biden, Dan Feehan and Shawna Marshall.
She went out to straighten them Monday night, and Tuesday morning they were gone. “I was so upset that someone would do that,” Mann said.
She contacted law enforcement to report the incident, but her husband, Chad McClure, later found them in the gutter a few blocks away.
Karen and Cary Radisewitz also had their political signs vandalized and their American flag stolen from their yard on Main Street.
“To quote Michelle Obama, ‘When they go low, we go higher,’” Karen Radisewitz said. “It seems disproportionate to me, with all the huge Trump signs around that seem undisturbed.”
She said she’ll put her Biden poster back up, but feels bad about the stolen flag. She, too, contacted law enforcement.
According to the Rock County Attorney Jeff Haubrich, the penalty for stealing or vandalizing campaign signs depends on the value of the material.
“The short answer is, the signs are property and the value of them determines the level of theft offense,” he said.
He said stealing or vandalizing an average-size sign would be a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail.
There are also possible civil damages for expenses to the candidate/resident.
“The longer answer is, there could conceivably be other crimes as well. Damage to property or trespass come to mind,” Haubrich said. “But again, those would likely be misdemeanors with the same possible punishments and it would depend on what actually happened.”
Mann said it’s disappointing that someone in the community would seek to suppress a political view.
“We all have our own political beliefs, and this is private property,” Mann said. “There are all kinds of political signs all over, and it’s our right to display signs supporting a candidate.”