MN House Candidate Helped Wife Steal Campaign Signs: Police

ALEXANDRIA, MN — A man running for a seat in the Minnesota House helped his wife steal more than 240 yard signs across the city of Alexandria, according to police.

Judd Hoff, 53, was charged Friday with one count of aiding and abetting felony theft and one count of felony receiving stolen property. His wife — Wendy Hoff, 50 — was charged the same day with one count of felony theft.

Both face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Judd is running as a Democrat, but in April, Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party disavowed him after a local party unit endorsed him

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Judd's criminal record includes a second-degree assault conviction for wielding a 23-inch machete in 2020. He received a 13-month jail sentence and served 8 months of it, the Associated Press reported.

In the spring, Judd was accused of stalking the Republican incumbent he's up against.

Sign stealing investigation

In July, Alexandria Police began investigating reports of stolen signs from across the city, including signs for the local craft fair, REMAX Realty signs, and "No Parking" signs.

According to investigators, on July 26, Wendy was seen stopping at homes along East Golf Course Road and taking "Josh Owen" signs, which were yard signs produced following the death of Pope County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Owen.

An off-duty officer followed Wendy as she returned to her home.

Investigators later learned of an encounter Wendy had with a Douglas County deputy.

On July 10, while speaking with a deputy, Wendy "made statements to him regarding one of her husband's signs being removed from the public right-of-way by law enforcement," the criminal complaint states.

Body camera video captured Wendy expressing frustration with their sign being taken, police said.

According to the criminal complaint, Wendy said: "If I put a sign within 12 feet of this property, by law, you as a person could come by and take that piece of property because it's in the right-of-way," and "You can't put even a, technically, a garage sale sign, a realtor sign, okay? Them [expletive] gotta go."

On Aug. 7, when a search warrant was executed at the Hoff house, officers reported that they found piles of signs, including:

• Interlachen Bazaar signs
• Realty signs
• Art in the Park signs
• Trump, Michelle Fischbach, and Steve Boyd campaign signs,
• A Josh Owen sign

In total, authorities found more than 240 signs, according to the criminal complaint.

Preliminary estimates indicate that the total damages are nearing $5,000, authorities said.