New Hampshire Man Fined $992 For Unlawfully Removing 2024 Trump Signs From A Public Way

CONCORD, NH — A man from Rumney was fined in Plymouth District Court for illegally removing political advertising owned by another person, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.

James Martin, 64, of Rumney, pleaded guilty to two of three charges on Sept. 25, after incidents in September 2024 involving Trump for President signs. The case was filed in Plymouth District Court in May of this year. According to an affidavit, in late October 2024, a resident of Rumney called the Election Law Hotline to report his political signs were stolen, after initially filing a complaint with police. Police, the complainant said, did not appear to be taking any action about the violation.

The man’s Trump signs, the complainant said, were posted in a public right-of-way, not on private property, and were cleared by police. But the signs were then repeatedly stolen, he said. The owner of the signs installed trail cameras and captured video footage of his neighbor, Martin, removing the signs.

On Sept. 14, 2024, police spoke with Martin, recovered the signs, and returned them to the victim.

The complainant, during discussions with police, admitted the signs were on the property of a third neighbor, but he had permission to have them there. The cameras, he said, caught Martin throwing the signs into a nearby brook. The complainant, too, began applying black paste to the backs of the signs so whoever took them would have it on their hands, the report said.

Martin, however, told police he believed he had the right to remove the signs from public property.

“While initially becoming argumentative,” the report said, “Martin ultimately admitted to taking ‘some’ of the signs.”

Martin also admitted to throwing a sign in a brook. After the chief of police advised Martin he could apply for a search warrant to obtain the signs, a partner appeared from behind the residence with one of the signs. The sign, the report said, had a black paste on it, too.

After the election, an investigator with the attorney general’s office interviewed Martin, who said the other neighbor was not present and the house was for sale, so the complainant did not have permission to place the signs on the property. Other signs, he said, were on a utility pole owned by the New Hampshire Electric Co-Op. Martin again admitted to taking down the signs, calling them “trash,” while claiming the complainant was trespassing.

The investigator also confirmed with the police chief that two signs had been stolen and reused at least twice, and that one was found in a brook.

A second investigator visited the complainant on Dec. 12, 2024, and received video footage from the trail cameras. The footage showed Martin approaching the sign, which then disappeared on Sept. 11, 2024. In footage from Sept. 12, 2024, Martin’s vehicle drives by the sign twice, and the sign is no longer visible. In a third video, from Sept. 14, 2024, Martin’s vehicle appears, and the sign disappears, the affidavit said.

One had the words “Harris Waltz” painted on the Trump sign, the report said, while another had the exact words painted in blue and orange.

An investigator also confirmed via New Hampshire DMV records that the white vehicle belonged to Martin.

In February, investigators reached out to the NH Electric Co-Op and confirmed the organization does not allow signs on its utility poles. When they get reports about signs, they send out a crew to remove them, the report said.

Later that month, the property owner was contacted by an investigator, who denied giving anyone permission to post or remove political signs on the property.

Martin was arrested in late May.

The Election Law Unit reminded the public that removing political signs from public ways was a violation of state law, even if the sign had been unlawfully erected. Anyone believing a sign has been unlawfully erected or illegally removed should contact the Election Law Unit.

Do you have a news tip? Please email it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube or Rumble channels. Patch in New Hampshire is now in 190 communities. Also, follow Patch on Google Discover.