Man Uses Most Unusual Way to Take Down Biden Signs: Cops

James Blight accused of stealing bulldozer, taking signs in mostly Black Fla. neighborhood
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 26, 2020 6:29 AM CDT
Updated Oct 26, 2020 6:53 AM CDT
Cops: Man Stole Bulldozer, Tore Down Biden Signs
A campaign yard sign shows support for Joe Biden and running mate Sen. Kamala Harris on Oct. 15, 2020, in Marlborough, Mass.   (AP Photo/Bill Sikes)

If you're a resident in Haines City, Fla., whose Joe Biden yard signs remain intact, consider yourself lucky that the bulldozer didn't end up at your place. That bulldozer, police say, was stolen from a local construction site by a young white man and used to terrorize a predominantly Black neighborhood in the city on Saturday, ripping up Biden-Harris signs and causing other property damage. "This man came onto my property, took the two Joe Biden signs I had in my yard, and [then] came back with a bulldozer to run down my fence," Adam Burgess, who once served as vice mayor of the city, tells Spectrum Bay News 9. In a video posted on Facebook, Burgess added, "Obviously this individual is not the smartest in his class, because he continued driving a backhoe down the street, in the middle of the day." Burgess also thinks the crime speaks to a larger issue going on in the US.

"To come into our community and destroy property—it speaks to the dog whistles that Donald Trump has been putting out his whole campaign," he says, per Spectrum Bay News 9. "'Stand back and stand by,' and we have guys in bulldozers doing this. What does the president have to say about that?" Police charged James Blight—who they say also plowed over a city speed limit sign in addition to taking Biden signs from Burgess and others—with grand theft auto and trespassing. Per the Washington Post, Burgess recruited friends to put up 30 or so signs in his yard after the incident. He thinks there should be additional charges against Blight. "There needs to be more punishment," he tells Spectrum Bay News 9. "This was a hate crime." Burgess also says he has a message for Trump supporters who choose to do something like this: "If you're gonna be racist, be smart about it." (More weird crimes stories.)

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