With the election around the corner, some Solana Beach residents have put political signs in their front yards to express their beliefs. However, keeping these signs in place has turned into an ongoing struggle.
For weeks, ABC 10News has covered the rising trend of political signs being stolen in Solana Beach, with some residents feeling that both their First Amendment rights and their property are being violated.
At the beginning of this month, neighbors voiced their frustrations over the disappearing signs. Then, about a week ago, fed-up residents began attaching tracking devices to their signs to confront thieves directly.
That’s exactly what happened when some neighbors followed a tracking tag to a local high school.
“There are 19 signs stolen from around the neighborhood,” said Lincoln, a Solana Beach resident.
But one of them was able to be tracked.
The sign-stealing saga began when the Rosen family placed a Harris-Walz sign in front of their house weeks ago. It didn’t last long.
“It’s our property, and they should not be taking it,” said Howie Rosen.
The next time the neighbors put up their signs, they attached an Apple AirTag for tracking.
“We tracked down the location of the signs. We found the car and saw the signs inside,” said Lincoln.
They traced the car to a nearby high school and waited for the police or the car’s owner to show up.
“Eventually, the kids came out and claimed they hadn’t stolen them, but later agreed to give them back to us. They took them out of their car and put them in my trunk,” said Lincoln.
Just two days later, the signs were taken again. For those calling it a harmless prank by kids, the neighbors have strong words.
“They’re stealing small things now. What are they gonna steal later?” asked Rosen.
“It can’t be a prank at this scale. When you’re stealing 19 signs, driving around, having a gang of people jumping out, cutting wires, ripping signs up, stacking them in your car—that’s not a prank,” said Lincoln.
