Raleigh man charged with misdemeanors for allegedly setting ‘Trump Won’ signs on fire
A man allegedly seen on camera kicking and repeatedly setting a political yard sign on fire last week at the Raleigh home of a local Republican activist has been formally charged by police with two misdemeanor counts, according to court records.
James Dennis White Jr., 60, of Raleigh, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor injury to real property on Monday, after police opened an investigation into two separate incidents that were captured on home security camera footage that appeared to show White setting a “Trump Won” yard sign on fire, early on the mornings of Aug. 15 and Aug. 18.
White was first publicly suggested to be the man seen lighting the signs on fire on Sunday, after John Kane, a local businessman and GOP activist who the signs belonged to, uploaded footage from his Nest camera to Twitter and offered a $1,000 reward to anyone could identify the man recorded in the videos. A tipster based in California who didn’t want to share his name identified the man as White, Kane said on Twitter.
On Monday evening, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said her office was in the process of serving the man seen in the videos with the two charges. According to court records, White was charged with the Class 1 misdemeanors that day. Also on Monday, Kane’s attorney filed a lawsuit against White, accusing him of trespassing, invasion of privacy and inflicting emotional distress, and seeking damages.
In the citation issued to White, the charging officer reports that White was “located, interviewed, and confessed to both crimes on separate dates.”
The officer goes on to report that White was “polite and cooperative” and “remorseful in what he did.”
White is scheduled to have his first court appearance in Wake County District Court on Sept. 18.
Police investigating related bomb threats
On Wednesday, Raleigh police also confirmed that they were investigating a bomb threat in Raleigh, in connection to this case.
Multiple news outlets including The News & Observer, as well as Raleigh police and city officials, were sent an email on Tuesday afternoon that said “several firebombs” had been placed at a Raleigh location and would “detonate probably within 30 minutes of sending this email.” The email expressed anger about the damage to the signs and ended with “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”
That email was sent at 2:38 p.m. On Wednesday, police confirmed that officers responded to the scene mentioned in the threat approximately seven minutes later, at 2:45 p.m. A police spokesperson did not provide any further details other than to say that the “incident is being investigated.”
Officers were seen investigating the scene with bomb-sniffing dogs on Tuesday afternoon.
A second threat, sent from a different email address, was received on Wednesday morning. The RPD spokesperson said police were aware of both threats.
This story was originally published August 23, 2023 at 12:18 PM with the headline "Raleigh man charged with misdemeanors for allegedly setting ‘Trump Won’ signs on fire."
