Torched Pro-Biden Display Rebuilt With New Message

Mass. farmer calls for respect, unity
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 14, 2020 1:37 PM CDT
Torched Biden Display Replaced With Unity Message
This Friday, Oct. 9, 2020 photo provided by Megan Whilden shows a stack of hay bales that were painted to show support for the Democratic presidential ticket on fire in Dalton, Mass.   (Megan Whilden via AP)

Holiday Brook Farm vowed to rebuild after its massive pro-Biden hay bale display was torched less than 24 hours after it went up—but the new display at the western Massachusetts farm has a new message. The huge plastic-wrapped hay bales now say "LOVE," "UNITY," "RESPECT," and "VOTE." "We really didn’t want to increase the divisiveness around the election," farmer Dicken Crane tells the Boston Globe. "It’s a message that we really hope this country is about. If we respect unity and love, it makes the names on the political message less important." "The nicest thing has been the number of Trump supporters who actually said they respect what we’re doing," Crane says.

The alleged arsonist, meanwhile is being held without bail pending a Friday hearing on whether he is a danger to society, MassLive reports. Prosecutors say Lonnie Durfee, 49, doused the hay bales in gasoline before setting them on fire. "This is a sad reflection of the vast polarization in our country and in the Berkshires. We believe Mr. Durfee destroyed personal property because he disagreed with the property owner’s political views," District Attorney Andrea Harrington said in a statement. "We will hold Mr. Durfee accountable and I hope the community uses this incident as a rallying cry to reject fervent divisiveness and hate," she added. (More Election 2020 stories.)

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