Political signs being stolen and vandalized ahead of election
By Jenna Wilson
The November election is sparking theft and vandalism of political campaign signs in Buchanan County.
Local campaign sign destruction is seemingly rising ahead of the Nov. 5 election, but residents are reporting incidents on social media rather than to law enforcement — or just keeping them to themselves.
Despite people deciding to not report these crimes, officials with the St. Joseph Police Department said it is a punishable crime to steal and vandalize signs ahead of the election.
”Whether you steal an election sign, you deface an election sign or you decide to tear it up, those are all crimes, “said Capt. Jeff Wilson with the St. Joseph police department. “And they’re misdemeanors that can be punished by up to a year in jail or a $2,500 fine.”
News-Press Now spoke with a DeKalb, Missouri resident about the ongoing problem of signs being vandalized and stolen from private property.
“It’s been knocked down four or five times and I keep fixing it,” said DeKalb resident Brady Frakes. “Seems like it’s happening during the day when I’m at work.”
This election season has caused tension to rise for many political candidates.
During an interview between News-Press NOW and Frakes on-scene for this story, a black truck sped through an Everett Goddard Jr. sign displayed outside of the residence, disrupting the interview and barely missing the reporter and resident.
“What just happened there is a constant problem,” Frakes said. “It concerns me a little but I just keep moving forward and putting the signs back up.”
Everett Goddard, one of the candidates who has been a target this election year, told News-Press NOW he has had hundreds of signs stolen since campaigning and he was fortunate to track down a few of them with the use of a tracker.
Goddard hasn’t pressed charges over these incidents but he is considering taking action soon.
“If you’re an elected official, you should expect people just to run against you,” Goddard said. “That’s just all there is to it.”
The St. Joseph police department is urging residents facing this issue to report the incident to law enforcement immediately and says having security cameras is always helpful.
“I’ve seen it reported multiple times and once a report is taken, it will be looked into,” said Wilson. “If we can identify the person who’s responsible, they’ll be held accountable. My message to everybody would be, just don’t participate and let’s have a peaceful election.”
