Political signs torched in Durham neighborhood
DURHAM, North Carolina -- Three homeowners in Durham woke up Thursday to find their yard signs had been torched.
Two of the signs were anti-President Donald Trump; two others were simply welcoming in nature. All four were set on fire Thursday morning.
"I felt invaded," said Susan Orovitz. "It's intrusive. And it's really dangerous. I've got a wood porch. There's a lot of wood on my house."
Orovitz, who had one of the welcoming signs set on fire, said she didn't know about it until a neighbor pounded on her door.
"There were just embers, red embers, and I didn't even have shoes on. She stamped it out and I called the police."
Durham police said they took statements Thursday morning but no arrests have been made.
Two doors down from Orovitz, Beverly Tucker had a welcome sign torched as well as a sign calling for President Trump's impeachment.
"I was aware of an odor and thought someone would be starting a campfire or something."
Tucker says she's doubling down on her signs. She's already replaced the two that were burned and said that she's ordered more.
"In this country, we can practice religion, reading, politics and speech as we wish," Tucker explained. "And it's my freedom to be able to say, 'You may not like it, you may not agree with it, but you can just turn around and walk away. You shouldn't destroy my signs.'"
"If someone saw me outside or came up to my door and said, 'I'm really offended by your sign, can we talk about it?' I wouldn't mind the discussion," said Orovitz ruefully, "but that's not how things are working lately. In my day, when I was a teenager in high school, people burned crosses on people's lawns when they thought they shouldn't be in their neighborhood. This sign is the antithesis of that."
