CLEVELAND — The man arrested and charged with burning political yard signs over the summer was sentenced today to 18 months of probation. In addition, he will have to register as an arson offender, write letters of apology to his victims, and undergo a mental health evaluation while following its recommendations.
Prior to a contentious special election, 64-year-old Michael Meehan was seen on surveillance video in July and August lighting "Vote No On Issue 1" political signs on fire outside an Ohio City business and throughout a Cleveland neighborhood. 3News reported on these situations over the summer, speaking with the impacted business owner and residents.
Just days after WKYC's reports ran, Meehan was arrested, and he eventually pleaded guilty to a felony charge of arson as well as a misdemeanor charge of petty theft. On Tuesday, he appeared in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court for both the sign burnings as well as sentencing for an unrelated case that saw him practice massage therapy without a license, with his lawyer confirming he did not fill out a necessary form to renew it.
Meehan told Judge Joan Synenberg he had been struggling with alcohol and drinking daily at the time of the arsons, and had been attending AA meetings in addition to seeing a psychiatric nurse. Still, Synenberg noted the potential dangers of Meehan's actions.
"You're 64 years old, and this is the kind of discourse we're having in a community right now that seems to be so inflamed when it comes to any kind of a disagreement," the judge said. "You could literally burn a house down because of your disagreement with a political sign? There's people involved on the other end of that."
Meehan apologized for his actions and expressed remorse, saying the sign burnings were "out of character."
"I was angry about the issue," he explained. "I was stupid. I really don't have any logical explanation for what I did."
Issue 1 referred to an August ballot measure that would have raised the threshold for amending the Ohio Constitution to a 60% supermajority of voters. Critics claimed it was an attempt to circumvent proposals such as a later abortion-rights amendment, and it eventually failed at the polls 57%-43%.