Campaign Statement: What Happened to the Crisp Sign

-Submitted by Edwin Farr, Campaign Manager, Committee to Elect Eric Crisp

The Committee to Elect Eric Crisp offers this account, drawn from the Sheriff's Office incident report (202606-153) and the first-hand accounts of those involved.

The sign belonged to the campaign and was placed on private property with the owner's permission. Volunteers Joe Williams and Nathan Walker obtained that permission and, with the owner's agreement, upgraded a small yard sign to a larger one, placed Sunday, June 21.

On Tuesday, June 23, store employee Sherri Gwynn objected and told the campaign the sign "had to go." Both Eric Crisp and Joe Williams reached the property owner, Ameendeep "Jolly" Singh, directly. Singh was out of town until Friday and asked that no action be taken until he returned. He never ordered the sign removed.

On Friday, June 26, paper was taped over the sign twice and removed both times. The sign was still standing at about 1:00 a.m. Saturday, June 27 -- a fact the report confirms. Sometime that morning it was cut down with a chainsaw and left on the ground.

According to the report, Gwynn "brought her chainsaw and cut it down" -- her own statement to the deputy. The report codes the incident "290 - Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property," with Eric Crisp named as the victim.

The campaign reported the vandalism. After a delayed response, deputies questioned whether a crime had occurred and directed the campaign to the magistrate. No one was charged.

The report lists Gwynn -- who admitted cutting the sign down -- as a witness. It names as the suspect Singh, the property owner, who was on vacation, was never interviewed, and gave no statement. Destroying a lawfully placed political sign is a crime under North Carolina law. To date, no charges have been filed.

Two points the campaign wants clear. First, the sign was destroyed by a store employee who admitted it – not removed by the property owner. Second, the campaign has never called for a boycott of the store or its owner. We reviewed every post and comment across our Facebook and Instagram pages and found no such call. The owner is a victim here, not the villain. The campaign has always respected private property owners and worked cooperatively with local businesses.

Eric Crisp: "This could have been handled quickly – charges toward the person who cut the sign down, and a statement from everyone that vandalism is not okay. That's not what happened, and here we are still talking about it."

The campaign asks only that both accounts be placed before readers, side by side, so the public can judge for themselves.