Massachusetts resident brings back Trump logo illumination on town’s water tower, reigniting fight with officials

Officials in a South Shore town continue to scold a resident for displaying a Trump logo on a water tower after the former president won Tuesday’s presidential election, reiterating that the action violates town bylaws.

A Hanson resident who hadn’t projected a “Trump 2024” message on a town-owned water tower in weeks came back Wednesday, displaying a new image – a red “Punisher” skull adorned with a Trump haircut, social media posts showed.

Town officials put up spotlights to block the unnamed resident from putting up the “Trump 2024” logo, leaving them in place through Election Day.

“Regrettably, the party involved in the image projection resumed projecting today,” Town Administrator Lisa Green said in a statement Wednesday night, “and as a result we have had to yet again take measures to block the projected image.”

Hanson voters favored Trump, with the president-elect receiving 54.7% of the overall vote in town, surpassing the 43.5% for Kamala Harris, unofficial results show.

“We would like to reiterate that the Town of Hanson does not endorse any political candidate, party or platform in any election,” Green said in her statement, “and that Town bylaws prohibit the display of political symbols or signage on government property.”

“The Town is duty-bound to enforce those bylaws,” she added, “and is committed to taking whatever action is necessary to prevent future violations.”

The “Punisher” is an antihero from Marvel Comics, with the character depicting an Italian-American vigilante who “hunts down criminals and kills them in brutal ways.” His outfit includes an image of a large skull.

Similar to the “Trump 2024” logo, Green did not explicitly describe the image that popped up on the water tower Wednesday. She called it solely a “political sign.”

After receiving a cease-and-desist letter from the town’s zoning enforcement officer on Oct. 12, the resident stopped displaying the “Trump 2024” logo. Because the resident “declined to agree in writing” to never put an image up again, officials said they found themselves in a “stalemate.”

“The unnecessary situation endured by the Town of Hanson by a single resident trying to make a political statement has … caused an undue financial burden on the Town,” the Select Board wrote in an Oct. 22 statement.

The Select Board highlighted how the “deeply unfortunate and unnecessary situation” prompted “at least one threat” sent in a voicemail toward a town official and a “number of inappropriate and vulgar phone calls and email messages to Town employees who are just doing their jobs.”

The cease-and-desist order that the town issued the resident carried the “maximum fine of $100 per day” until the logo was no longer visible, Green said in an Oct. 12 statement.

The fine, however, would “likely not cover” expenses that the town put into addressing the situation including “attorney fees, overtime to pay Highway Department workers to turn the spotlight on and off each day, and the potential for having to rent or purchase stronger lighting equipment.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/B75J4DR