The 2024 Northern Virginia political sign wars have reportedly made an incursion into the Town of Vienna.
A resident called the Vienna Police Department earlier this month after two political signs were removed from his property on Ayr Hill Avenue NW only to be returned a few days later. The man also said he found two signs that had been “struck with a hunting bow,” according to the department’s recap for the week of Oct. 18-24.
The signs affected in the incident — which unfolded between 9 a.m. on Oct. 16 and noon on Oct. 19 — expressed support for former president and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, a VPD spokesperson confirmed to FFXnow.
It’s unclear whether the alleged sign thief and bow shooter were the same person. In the early morning hours of Oct. 18, a different resident on Wilmar Place NW reported that someone had shot at her vehicle with a hunting bow, damaging the tire, according to Vienna Police.
Vandalism 24-011533
100 Block Wilmar Place, NW
October 18 between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m.
A resident reported someone shot a hunting bow at her vehicle while it was parked in front of her house vandalizing the tire. (Reference Incident #24-11653)
The VPD didn’t comment on whether it has seen other campaign sign-related theft or vandalism incidents during this year’s high-stakes election cycle, which will determine whether Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, succeeds President Joe Biden in the White House, among other races.
Communities around the country, from Maine to Wyoming, have reported seeing more issues with campaign sign stealing and vandalism than in previous years, leading some people to set up alarms and booby traps, while others have eschewed public displays of their political preferences to avoid creating conflicts with their neighbors.
In neighboring Arlington County, FFXnow’s sister site ARLnow confirmed that Harris-Walz signs had been pilfered from one residential street, and the county’s Republican Party committee said they hear from voters whose signs have been “stolen, damaged or vandalized” on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, last month, some pro-Harris signs and at least one Trump sign in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood — where Trump running mate J.D. Vance now lives — were taken down in response to complaints of code violations, Washingtonian reported.
In Fairfax County, residential properties are allowed up to 12 square feet of yard signs, but no individual sign can exceed four feet in height or four square feet in size.
According to Patch, Virginia classifies political sign thefts as petit larceny, a Class 1 misdemeanor that can carry a sentence of up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine. The penalty for vandalism varies depending on the value of the damaged property.
