Stealing your neighbor's election signs is illegal in all fifty states

In case anyone needs reminding, well, yes, it is illegal to steal your neighbor’s political yard signs.

That may seem like a no-brainer, but based on recent social media posts in the Cincinnati area – and beyond – it’s clear that not everyone knows this legal tidbit.

Or maybe they just don’t care.

With the 2024 presidential election just over a week away, there have been a few complaints about signs pulling Houdini acts from yards across the US. Municipality of Colerainas well as elsewhere Ohio And Kentucky.

Reports of missing signals around any election cycle are not unusual – and in fact, indirect political signals can disappear even when there are no elections looming, as was the case earlier this year. Anderson community. In fact, it’s common enough that, in Gen Alpha parlance, sign stealers can be said to be simple and cringe-inducing.

It is also illegal, although the penalties are somewhat minor unless the theft is widespread. In Ohio, thefts are crimes until they reach $1,000 each Ohio law. In Kentucky, most political sign thefts would be classified as Class B feloniesaccording to a piece written in 2022 by Campbell County Attorney Steve Franzen.

In Springfield, Missouri, a woman recently went viral post videos in which she and her husband used an Apple tracking device to lead them to their yard sign kidnapper, who had also 59 other garden signs in the trunk of his car.

Lane Simmons, a Springfield police representative (no Springfield, Ohiowhich recently had its own politically charged viral moment), said the case remains under investigation. The videos suggest the sign thieves had calculated the cost of their stolen loot and estimated it would be just under the criminal limit.

However, it’s worth noting that even though the thief said the threshold for felony status was $200, he says it’s actually $750. Missouri State Law. And stealing political signals also falls under a another legal heading and is punishable by up to one year in prison or a $2,500 fine. (Moral of the story: Don’t trust viral videos for legal advice.)

Simmons said calculating the value of a political yard sign is lackluster because some signs are given in exchange for political donations, which could mean someone felt like they paid $20 for a yard sign, while a judge could decide that the value of the sign is only the cost of the actual material. .

It is perhaps because of these gray areas that some online are suggesting a more vigilant approach to deter sign theft. A Reddit This week’s thread on thefts in the Cincinnati area provided some unsavory homemade options that would flag, embarrass or hinder thieves. They include coating yard signs with Vaseline and glitter, spraying them with fox or deer urine, attaching trackers to them (a la the Missouri woman), and installing motion-activated lights near them.

Although this approach is not endorsed by local police, there is one: don’t steal yard signs.

That’s what’s happening so far in Wyoming, Ohio, a fact that made police officer Jessica Eastham sound almost giddy Friday morning.

“We’ve had problems in the past,” Eastham said, “but this year we haven’t had any reports of missing signs.”