Your support helps us to tell the story
A property owner who projected a “Trump 2024” sign onto the side of a municipal water tower has been sent a cease-and-desist letter and fines $100 per day.
Highway Department employees have now positioned a spotlight to shine on the tower, making it harder to see the projection at night.
Officials said the town of Hanson in Massachusetts does not endorse candidates, nor does it allow political signs to be displayed on municipal property.
Hanson Town Administrator Lisa Green said the town first became aware that a resident was projecting the image of a political sign supporting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from their property onto the Hanson municipal water tower on Oct. 11. Officials have declined to identify the individual.
“This misleads the public into believing that this activity is sanctioned by or condoned by the town," Green said in a statement Saturday.
Officials said the resident's actions could cost a significant amount of taxpayer dollars, including attorney fees, overtime to pay workers to turn the spotlight on and off each day, and the potential for having to rent or purchase stronger lighting equipment.
The $100 per day fine will likely not cover these expenses, officials said.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump took their fight for Pennsylvania to opposite ends of the state on Monday.
Ms Harris spoke in the northwest corner in Erie and Mr Trump in the southeastern suburbs of Philadelphia.
The candidates have been making regular appearances in the country’s largest battleground state - it was Ms Harris’ 10th visit to Pennsylvania this campaign season, while her Republican rival made stops in Scranton and Reading last week.
At an evening campaign rally, the vice president homed in on Mr Trump‘s comments over the weekend suggesting that the US military could potentially be used to deal with “the enemy from within”.
She argued the comments made in a Fox News interview are the latest example of threatening rhetoric from the former president that should concern Americans about what a potential second Trump term could look like.
“He considers anyone who doesn’t support him or who will not bend to his will an enemy of our country,” she said after playing a clip of the comment on the jumbo screen in the Erie arena. “This is among the reasons I believe so strongly that a second Trump term would be a huge risk for America and dangerous.”
She added that Mr Trump is increasingly displaying “unstable and unhinged” behaviour.
Mr Trump made the comment in response to a question about “outside agitators” potentially disrupting election day, pivoting to what he said is a foe closer to home.
“I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within,” Mr Trump said. “We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics... and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”
Running mate Senator JD Vance defended Mr Trump‘s comments during a campaign stop in Minneapolis earlier on Monday.
“Is it a justifiable use of those assets if they’re rioting and looting and burning cities down to the ground? Of course it is. Right?” Mr Vance told reporters.
“I think the question is, is it a justifiable use of assets, depends on what’s actually happening.”
