A North Carolina Democratic county leader, who is also running for a seat in the state House, was arrested after allegedly stealing Trump signs near a road last week.
Moore County, North Carolina, County Chair Lowell Simon, 68, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor larceny of political signs after he admitted to removing Trump signs and keeping them in his car, Fox News reported. North Carolina is an important swing state in the election between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. The Moore County Sheriff’s Office said that a deputy witnessed Lowell removing the signs on Thursday.
“The deputy, who was responding to an unrelated call at the time, later followed up at Simon’s residence, where the signs were found in his vehicle,” the sheriff’s office said. “Simon admitted to removing the signs, which were then recovered and returned to their original owner.”
The Moore County Democratic Party announced on Monday that Simon had resigned as chair.
“While we appreciate the hard work and dedication he has shown to the Democratic Party and the community, the Moore County Democratic Party cannot and will not condone the tampering of political signs or any other illegal activity,” the local party wrote on Facebook. “Mr. Simon has offered an apology for his actions, as well as his resignation, both of which have been accepted by the MCDP.”
Simon argued that the Trump signs were obstructing signs he had placed in support of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein along the same stretch of road. He added, however, that he’s been frustrated for months about his signs being obstructed by other political signs, including signs promoting his own party’s candidates.
“I’ve been telling people for years don’t touch opposition signs, but I was [mad],” he said, according to WRAL News.
“If people are going to break the law, myself included, there should be consequences,” Simon added. “But, the law should be applied equally. I understand that sometimes you catch the criminal and sometimes you don’t, but it has to be applied equally.”
Simon’s first court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday, October 30.
“My worse angels got the better of me and I removed the signs,” Simon said. “I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t do it in the stealth of night or anything. I did it when it was five o’clock in the afternoon.”
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