A New York man was stunned this week to find out who stole his Donald Trump yard signs — the former vice president of academic affairs at a local college.
Charlie Tulumello of Amherst put recording equipment in his yard after pro-Trump yard signs kept disappearing in the middle of the night. Seven signs in total disappeared before the culprit — former Keuka College administrator Norman Muir — was finally caught.
“The first ones I thought maybe they were kids, pranks,” Mr. Tulumello told a local CBS News affiliate Monday. “This is supposed to be the United States of America. Free speech. Those things are not supposed to be done.”
Mr. Tulumello told the station that his wife was “uneasy” at night as the theft continued, so he put up a special sign warning people to stay off his property.
“Didn’t work. This fella just kept coming,” the New Yorker said. “I was aggravated, angry. This person comes up on my property in the middle of the night. You don’t know what to think. I mean, these are stupid signs, but you’re coming onto my property in the middle of the night, stealing. That’s not right.”
The station confronted Mr. Muir about his behavior, but he declined to speak on camera.
“I wish I wouldn’t have done it,” the 63-year-old man told the station. “It was stupid. I feel ashamed that I did it.”
The former administrator has been charged by authorities with petty larceny and trespassing.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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