A North Carolina man accused of vandalizing a yard sign that read “TRUMP WON” has been identified as James Dennis White Jr., according to a civil lawsuit filed this week.
The surveillance footage initially shows a man repeatedly trying to kick the sign down after pulling his bicycle onto Mr. Kane’s front lawn at about 7 a.m. on Aug. 12, but it appears the strikes did not achieve the desired results.
Seemingly triggered by the sign supporting former President Donald Trump, subsequent surveillance footage posted by Mr. Kane shows a man who appears to be the same cyclist returning to the property with a lighter in the early morning hours of Aug. 15, setting fire to the outdoor sign mounted in a wooded area. After Mr. Kane then replaced the charred sign, the alleged arsonist returned on Aug. 18 to set fire to the new sign as well.
Cycling Route Tracked
According to the lawsuit, which is being represented by U.S. Attorney James R. Lawrence III, the suspect’s GPS data was uploaded to his Strava account and confirmed that he rode past Mr. Kane’s home on a number of cycling rides, which all match the dates on which the sign was vandalized.The complaint also alleges Mr. White described the cycling rides in “humorous terms” on the app, labeling it under the heading: “Wade Ave AGo Go!!!”
“This was no high school prank,” Mr. Lawrence wrote in the lawsuit, adding the suspect “could have respectfully engaged with John in any number of ways.”
“Unfortunately, in a pre-meditated fashion, White chose to literally start a fire on John’s property and destroy his political adversary’s property—not once, but twice,” the attorney alleged.
“This is not okay in America. I don’t care who you support politically, none of us can accept a country where someone can be so triggered by someone’s support of a majority party political candidate, that they come and commit premeditated arson on their home—really in an attempt to kill them,” he said. “It’s not a stretch ... that that fire goes from that tree to that tree to my house.”
Mr. Kane told WRAL News that the vandalism began “many months ago” and he already had to replace the sign several times after it was spray-painted a number of times before ultimately being set ablaze.
“It was spray painted, I believe, three times, [and] knocked over once or twice. I realize it’s a controversial sign, but I think it’s important for each side in our country to have a voice,” he told the publication.