Police in Haines City, Florida say a man stole a bulldozer and drove it through a neighborhood, tearing up Biden and Harris campaign signs along the way.
According to Mike Ferguson, public information officer for the Haines City Police Department, a 26-year-old man named James was arrested Saturday and charged with grand theft auto and trespassing. Ferguson said additional charges were possible. These are allegations, and the case had not been resolved when this story was published.
Police say he ran over a private chain link fence, several signs and a speed limit sign. In an email on Monday, Ferguson said James told officers he had been drinking whiskey all day and did not remember most of the day. Ferguson said James also told police he could not help but hit the Biden signs, acknowledged taking down a fence in the process, and said he did not know how to operate the equipment.
Haines City Police Chief Jim Elensky said no one was hurt, and called it absurd that anyone would think they had the right to destroy someone else’s property over a difference in political opinion. He also said driving heavy equipment on busy roads without knowing how to operate it could have been disastrous.
A neighbor named Cornelius, who watched it happen, told NBC News that he followed the bulldozer in his truck while calling 911. He said the driver was yelling at people along the way and that he heard him tell someone at an intersection that he was going to run them over. Cornelius also questioned the drunkenness claim, saying that someone who was truly impaired would have trouble steering equipment into a predominantly Black area and operating it with that much control.
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