Cyclist Caught on Camera Kicking Trump Sign, Returns at Night for Something Even Worse
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
For a supporter of former President Donald Trump in North Carolina, Trump Derangement Syndrome hit home — literally.
A sign he had on his lawn proudly declaring “Trump won” — an apparent reference to the 2020 election — was set on fire in mid-August by a cyclist whose actions under cover of darkness were caught on a video camera.
And thanks to social media and some reward money, he thinks he knows who the culprit is.
As reported by WRAL-TV in Raleigh, prominent Republican businessman John Kane had some warning that his Trump sign was a target when video captured a male cyclist stopping to kick at the placard in a scene recorded Aug. 12.
The kicks were not particularly damaging, but things changed in the next few days, when video captured what appeared to be the same man returning in the early morning hours to light the sign on fire.
Kane posted video of both events on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
He also offered a $1,000 reward.
$1,000 reward for the ID of this arsonist – help me make him a felon. #trump #trumpwon #ncpol pic.twitter.com/g8JLoZSQ70
— John Kane (@johnmkane1776) August 18, 2023
“The audacity of that is frightening,” Kane told WRAL. “There are lots of signs I see I don’t care for. But I’ve not set one on fire.”
Still, he told the TV station he already has replaced the sign.
As the video got attention, Kane got some help with the reward from pro-Trump podcaster Tim Pool, who offered $5,000 for the arrest and conviction of the arsonist. Conservative commentator and activist Benny Johnson also said he would contribute $5,000.
All that money on offer might have paid off, as Kane said he now knows the identity of the culprit, which he published in a post on X.
The incident recalled the widespread attacks on signs promoting the Trump campaign during the 2016 and 2020 election seasons in incidents reported around the country.
(For the record, a New York Times report from 2020 painted the picture of even-handedness, with signs for Democrat Joe Biden being vandalized nationally, too. Trump supporters probably don’t remember it that way.)
More than a year out from the 2024 general election, it appears some liberals aren’t waiting to make their feelings known about Trump signs this time around — and he hasn’t even won his party’s nomination yet.
But Kane isn’t taking this incident lightly.
He’s retained attorney James R. Lawrence III, who served briefly as chief counsel of the Food and Drug Administration at the end of Trump’s presidency.
In an Aug. 19 post on X, Lawrence said “the owner of the burned sign in this video … has retained me to file a lawsuit against this pyro-activist once he is identified.”
Regardless of what the Wake County District Attorney’s office does with this video, accountability is coming.@Johnmkane1776, the owner of the burned sign in this video, has retained me to file a lawsuit against this pyro-activist once he is identified. https://t.co/So7yCqd5su
— James R. Lawrence III (@jlawrencenc) August 19, 2023
“Accountability is coming,” he wrote.
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