Giant Trump sign stolen from trailer in North Carolina mountains, police say
A massive sign showing support for President Donald Trump was stolen in Western North Carolina, officials say.
The 40-foot-wide banner vanished this week from the side of a trailer in Boone, the mountain town’s police department said, according to multiple media outlets.
The giant campaign sign read “Re-Elect Trump 2020 for President of the United States of America,” a photo on the website for the Watauga Democrat newspaper shows. The sign also has the words “Trump Train 2020” next to a graphic of a locomotive.
Now, police say the owner is offering a $1,000 reward for information about the banner, believed to have been stolen between late Sunday and early Monday, WBTV reported.
On Tuesday, Watauga County commissioners passed a resolution that said the board didn’t “approve of stealing political signs, regardless of affiliation,” according to The Appalachian student newspaper.
Boone is roughly 85 miles west of Winston-Salem and home to Appalachian State University. A representative from the Boone Police Department didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Friday afternoon.
It isn’t the first time in recent weeks that authorities have received reports of missing political signs.
Near Asheville and Raleigh, residents have said their signs that showed support for the president, his opponent Joe Biden or other candidates have disappeared or been vandalized, according to the Citizen-Times and ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner.
In Virginia, deputies say a man was caught on camera stealing Trump signs. And in Wisconsin, video shows someone removing a Trump banner from its post in front of a Dairy Queen, according to footage obtained by Storyful.
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 3:11 PM.
