We’ve covered a bunch of sign stealers over the years – almost back to the time when we started 18 years ago. After all, it comes around every year – hopefuls trying to exercise their Free Speech Rights in getting their message (“I’M RUNNING! VOTE FOR ME!”) out to the electorate. And every year, we have partisans (mostly Democrats) who hate that kind of Free Speech (as in “NEVER let my opponent talk!”).
And that was particularly true with Jim Babcock, a retired school counselor and uber-Progressive, who just lost his remaining mind and stole Grokster Norm’s campaign sign a few years ago – and he got caught red-handed. Someone who knew Norm saw Babcock rip Norm’s sign out of the ground on a very public and well-traveled road in town, threw it into the back of his truck, and sped off.
He was immediately reported to the police; I chronicled his passage through our criminal justice system because he lived just down the street from me (click here). So this caught my eye (reformatted, emphasis mine):
Stolen Campaign Lawn Signs Tracked with Hidden Apple AirTags
It’s a political tale as old as time: put up a campaign poster in your yard, and thieves come to snatch it. But according to The Wall Street Journal, those fed up with front lawn looting are embracing a modern solution. Apple’s geo-tracking AirTag devices are helping owners find their signs — and sometimes, even the people who stole them.
The practice has already led to charges. In one example cited by the outlet, Florida politician John Dittmore decided to hide the coin-sized gadget on one of his posters after waking up to a number of thefts in May… [Two teenagers were charged with criminal mischief and the theft of nine signs.]
Heh! And we’ve been tipped off on cases like this, too (either the candidates or the campaign manager):
In other cited cases, stolen signs don’t end up with teens, but in the homes of electoral opponents. After Chris Torre became the victim of poster snatching, AirTags led him to the residence of Renee Rountree, the Journal said. Both were running for a seat on the Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors in Virginia. Her son-in-law was charged with a misdemeanor for stealing the property, while Rountree faced a misdemeanor for receiving stolen goods. In a December trial, she noted plans to return the signs. Rountree has since been ordered to 250 hours of community service.
“I would like to think that this will have a huge deterrent effect,” the trial’s judge said in the court’s transcript, quoted by WSJ.
Now, knowing the cost of a “roadside sign on a wire”, it may not be that cost-effective to put an Air Tag in every one (yes, I bought a set of 4 for TMEW so I know – she tracks her keys and glasses with them). However, when you have to keep REPLACING already placed signs, some candidates may do exactly that. And in the case of the larger signs (usually encased in a wooden frame), that placed Air Tag may turn out to be a good investment.
Think of it like the IRS – they don’t audit everyone but they do make examples of those who REALLY and deliberately cheat on their yearly returns (let’s not go there for in the political vendetta retribution ones right now). Forewarned is forearmed – when campaign workers and other supporters know that they may get tracked (hey, this IS a better idea than trail cameras!), the deterrent may make them better citizens.
And leave other peoples’ private property, the campaign signs, alone.
