A Democratic candidate in North Carolina has admitted to stealing political signs belonging to two prominent Republican politicians.
On Thursday, sheriff's deputies were out investigating a separate report of a man making political calls along Seven Lakes Drive in West End, an unincorporated area of Moore County about two hours east of Charlotte. I noticed a sign being pulled out of the ground.
The signs this man was taking were clearly to promote Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump and North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson.
“We acknowledge that Lowell Simon was arrested for conduct that we do not condone.”
After completing their mission with the original report, the deputy pursued the sign-stealing suspect, later identified as 68-year-old Lowell Evan Simon.
According to facebook post A call from the sheriff's office found signs in Simon's car, and the suspect admitted he had removed them. Simon was arrested and charged with two misdemeanor counts of theft of political signs. He was released on a written promise to appear in court later this month.
After his arrest, Simon said: pilot And he suggested he had done nothing wrong.
“There were some signs that were installed illegally,” Simon told the outlet. “What they're doing is they're putting up signs right in front of other signs, right on top of other signs, which is against the law and something we've known for years. . I won't do that because it's illegal.”
Simon claimed he took the sign and placed it in his car with the intention of returning it “to the Republican office.”
“I didn't do it in the middle of the night. It was the middle of the afternoon, and they had put it right in front of the Harris sign. I thought I'd take them.”
The sign was eventually returned “to its original owner,” the sheriff's office confirmed in a Facebook post, but it's unclear whether Simon delivered the sign.
Simon also claimed that signs supporting Democrat Kamala Harris were also stolen in the area. “I've been dealing with this all week. People have been calling me saying, 'The Harris sign was stolen,' and 'Can you give it to me now?'
“All I can do now is replace the sign that was stolen,” he said.
“Sheriff Lonnie Fields would like to remind the public that this is a violation of North Carolina General Statutes Section 136-32(e), which protects the lawful installation of signs during election periods.” It is written in the book post. he pointed out.
Simon is currently in the midst of a state House race, challenging incumbent Republican Congressman Neil Jackson for the seat representing District 78.
Following Simon's arrest, a Democratic House campaign official said, “We acknowledge that Lowell Simon was caught in unacceptable conduct. We are addressing this matter and moving forward.”
The pilot also named Simon as chairman of the Moore County Democratic Party; WNCN A report released Friday claimed he was listed as such on the organization's website. But as of Monday afternoon, Simon's name was no longer listed on the page. WebsiteMonique Baker has been named interim chair.
The Moore County Democratic Party did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment, but issued a statement to WNCN saying, “The Moore County Democratic Party and Democrats across the state do not condone theft or destruction of property related to political signage.” .
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