‘Fat’ Man and Elderly Couple Seen Stealing Campaign Signs on Rt 9

A brazen family of thieves was caught stealing political signs on a busy stretch of Route 9.

It's been an especially contentious political season in the Hudson Valley. Several races are currently polling at razor-thin margins, causing candidates to ramp up their rhetoric and pump money into negative ads. All of this partisanship has made this one of the ugliest election seasons the Hudson Valley has seen in quite some time.

Ugly campaign behavior

While politicians sling barbs at each other, people who are easily influenced by things they read on Facebook have also stepped into the fray. Falsehoods and exaggerations have convinced some that every candidate is actually the spawn of satan.

All of this craziness has made some people act a little crazy themselves. One of those nutjobs was seen not only making an ass out of himself but also breaking the law.

Shocking theft in broad daylight

Eyewitnesses say the shocking theft occurred in broad daylight on Saturday afternoon. According to reports, a "fat man" wearing sandals was seen running across a busy intersection on Route 9 in the Town of Poughkeepsie. The man approached a median near the intersection with Vassar Road and proceeded to take down political campaign signs.

As onlookers watched, the thief gathered the signs and returned to a sliver SUV that was waiting on Route 9. The car was being driven by an elderly man with an elderly woman in the passenger seat. Eyewitnesses say the large, sandaled man tossed the signs into the truck and jumped into the car.

Witnesses were outraged

Some witnesses were honking their horns and yelled "shame" as the car stopped at a light. Seemingly unphased by the fact that so many people witnessed them, the thieves drove off, presumably to gather some more signs.

One eyewitness said that they saw the man take a Pat Ryan sign, but others claim they couldn't tell exactly which signs the man took. However, they did note that the only political signs left at the intersection after the theft were those advertising for Republican candidates.

A hotbed of political protest

The intersection where the signs were stolen is no stranger to political activity. It's the same area where protesters are routinely seen cursing at cars through a megaphone and waving flags with the F-word on them.

Penalties for sign stealing

Stealing campaign signs is a Class A misdemeanor that is punishable under the New York State Penal Law and Election Law. Police say they encourage anyone with information about people stealing political signs to report it to the local authorities.