Trump Stickers On East Windsor Traffic Signs Violate State Regulations

EAST WINDSOR, CT — A proliferation of stickers supporting former president Donald Trump in his bid to regain the Oval Office has appeared in recent days on traffic signs in town, in violation of state statutes.

The blue stickers, reading Trump 2024 Take America Back, were spotted during a late afternoon drive Monday on roughly a dozen signs in town, primarily in the Broad Brook and Windsorville sections. The majority of them were placed on stop signs, though some speed limit signs were not immune.

State Traffic Commission regulation § 14-298-501(b), covering the installation and approval of all traffic control devices and signs, states, "No traffic sign or its support shall bear any message that is not essential to traffic control."

CGS § 14-310 states no one may "place, maintain or display upon or in view from any highway any unauthorized sign …which hides from view or interferes with the effectiveness of any official traffic control device … nor shall any public authority permit upon any highway any traffic sign or signal bearing thereon any commercial advertising."

It is not known who placed the stickers on the traffic signs, but two possible scenarios have emerged. On one hand, it could be an avid supporter of Trump as he campaigns against Vice President Kamala Harris to win back the presidency. Another possibility is, due to the placement directly under the word STOP, it could be an anti-Trump resident looking to convey the message, Stop Trump."

The latter may seem implausible, but there was a situation involving defaced traffic signs in neighboring Enfield about 40 years ago. For a stretch of seven or eight years, every stop sign in that town had the word LEO spray-painted under STOP. This was in reference to longtime Det. Sgt. Leo Arnone, who was the chief vice officer with the Enfield Police Department. Known as "Kojak" due to being completely bald before it was fashionable, Arnone was a champion weightlifter and bodybuilder, and instilled fear in many potential criminals due to his bulk.

East Windsor First Selectman Jason Bowsza said he received a complaint about the stickers from a citizen Monday, and has directed the head of the public works department to find any signs in violation of the statutes.

"The police department will take seriously any case of defacing public property, including street signs," Bowsza told Patch Tuesday. "Vandals are creating a situation where town personnel will have to scrape them clean, which could damage them, or some may need to be replaced, which comes at cost to the taxpayers due to someone's immature antics."