A brazen Massachusetts resident sparked chaos and intense debate after projecting a pro-Trump message onto his small town's water tower.
Hanson City Administrator Lisa Green furiously mounted efforts to stop 'Trump 2024' from being spread across city property by the unidentified culprit.
“This misleads the public into believing that this activity is sanctioned or tolerated by the city,” she wrote in a statement.
The Republican-leaning political message was first noticed on Friday night. Green said the resident will be fined $100 a day until he stops.
A cease and desist order is in place – and Department of Highways officials have shined a spotlight on the area to try to block the projection.
A Hanson resident sparked controversy by projecting 'Trump 2024' on a water tower
Hanson City Administrator Lisa Green furiously mounted efforts to detain the resident. In the photo: the city hall
“This individual's actions have the potential to cost the taxpayer a significant amount of money, including legal fees, overtime to pay Department of Highways employees to turn floodlights on and off every day, and the potential of having to rent or buy stronger lighting equipment,' Green wrote.
She pointed to the city charter as another argument against the defaulting resident.
The city's sign regulation ordinance states: 'Political signs are permitted in all zoning districts on private property with the permission of the property owner; there is no placing of political signage on municipal property.'
Green emphasized that Hanson, which is home to fewer than 11,000 people, “respects the free speech of all residents,” but people cannot make it appear as if the city is endorsing any political candidate.
Municipal water tower in Massachusetts was used to share a political message
Since the city began lighting the water tower, the slogan has not been identified. But residents told NBC10 they wonder if the person will project their message again when the city comes to a standstill.
The situation caused an uproar among the citizens of Hanson. Some said they believe the city is wasting time, money and resources trying to detain the resident.
“You shouldn't tie up police and other resources to something like this, but at the same time, it's America, you can say whatever you want,” Hanson resident Paul Riley said. NBC10.
“They should just let him put his application in and not spend the money on the generator that fuels the generator,” resident Kevin Welch told the outlet.
On social media, people showed support for both sides of the argument.
One Facebook user simply wrote that the person responsible “should be fined” for violating city ordinances.
Hanson's statute indicates that state political signs cannot be displayed on municipal property. like the water tower
A sunset over Hanson (stock image) The town is home to fewer than 11,000 people
But someone else argued that he's “technically not in the tower so they shouldn't be able to fine him.”
'That's free speech,' someone said.
Others viewed the situation through a political lens, saying “if it was a Biden thing, they would let it stay.”
A Republican presidential candidate has not won Massachusetts, which has tended to be a liberal state since Ronald Reagan in 1984.
“I hope this guy gets a GoFundMe to cover the fines and keeps it up,” said one Facebook user who favors pro-Trump sentiment.
Republican nominee Donald Trump may have a 'tilt' over Kamala Harris, according to model simulations
For the first time, a DailyMail.com/JL Partner Election Model indicated a slight 'tilt' in favor of Donald Trump over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris on Monday.
Trump was also in the lead in several swing states. He would claim overall victory in 62.4% of model simulations, compared to 59.8% last week.
Harris has a nearly 40 percent chance of winning, meaning the election could still be one of the closest in history.
