GEAUGA COUNTY, Ohio — Some Geauga County residents are voicing frustration after they say campaign yard signs were destroyed or stolen from their properties.
According to Geauga County Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand, the Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) received three reports of theft or vandalism over the weekend in different parts of the county.
Friday, a homeowner reported the signs in her front lawn were stolen in Huntsburg Township. Saturday, a man in Burton reported his campaign signs were damaged. Sunday, a man in Munson Township reported two of his campaign signs were slashed through the middle.
Hildenbrand says deputies typically see some degree of vandalism and theft occur during election cycles, but a key difference this year is in the value of property damage.
“This election cycle is actually different than a lot of other ones that we've been through,” said Hildenbrand. “People are buying the signs, they're paying for signs. Used to be you could go and get as many signs as you wanted for free, but people are buying them to display them in their yards, some of them cost $100 apiece.”
Hildenbrand says law enforcement is limited in what they can do because of difficulties in identifying those responsible. However, if caught, suspects could face charges for trespassing, vandalism and theft.
The main piece of advice from Hildenbrand is for residents to install security cameras if they’re concerned about property damage. Thus far, he says there seems to be more destruction of presidential signs than those for local races.
In each of the three incidents, the destroyed signs were advocating for Democratic candidates.
In a statement, Janet Carson, Chair of the Geauga County Democratic Party, told 3News a greater number of thefts occurred than reported to the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office:
“Civil discussions and freedoms of speech are being stifled in Geauga County. Over the last 48 hours, more than a dozen large Harris/Walz signs have been slashed, vandalized or stolen. More than 30 Harris yard signs were stolen in Tanglewood and surrounding neighborhoods since Friday. The financial loss exceeds $1500 as signs are expensive and replacements hard to find. It’s sad that our beautiful, tranquil county is experiencing this surge of hatred and anger. I’m viewing these reactions as fear from our opponents as they are being outsigned by Harris supporters. We won’t be discouraged; we’ve already replaced the vast majority of the stolen or damaged signs," Carson wrote.
3News reached out to the Geauga County GOP to see whether they heard of any vandalism to Republican candidate signs.
A spokesperson for the GOP told us they strongly believe in everyone’s rights to express their free speech and advocate for candidates with signs. They say they "strongly condemn any vandalism, theft, or destruction of property."
3News has received multiple emails from viewers across Northeast Ohio concerning offensive language on campaign signs.
Jonathan Entin, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University says the First Amendment protects a large amount of political speech, even speech that some find upsetting.
“We have a long history of First Amendment law that protects citizen critics of government, citizen critics of candidates for office, not absolute protection, but very expansive protection, precisely because the law works from the assumption that speech is generally a good thing,” said Entin. “And we don't want the government to be stopping people from engaging in protected speech because they're worried that they might somehow get thrown in jail or fined or sued.”