Long campaign season begins.  The leftist anti-trumpers start where they left off 4 years ago. With fire and the threat of more hate crimes

According to a Report on the Ferndale News Website :

Early on Sunday Morning February 16th a fire was seen at the corner of Enterprise and Grandview Road in North Whatcom County and according to reports was controlled by a police officer  until help could arrive. This fire; and property destruction is being investigated as probable arson.

The sign was replaced by the owners of the property by early Sunday February 16th.

The anti-Trumpers in Whatcom County are known for this type of activity against the free speech of residents who wish to express their preferred candidates and dates back to the 2016 Campaign:

Residents can remember that a Trump sign was set on fire several times at the Britton Road and Mt Baker Highway during the 2016 Presidential Campaign.

Also the events at the time on Sunset Street in Bellingham in 2016 that made National News when a Trump supporter electrified a Trump Sign to try to prevent a trespasser that was continually vandalizing the sign on the Trump supporter’s private property.

Reaction from some leaders in the community is a call to stop this kind of hate-crime and get back to debating issues and answer the display of free speech with free speech; not violence.

Ferndale citizen: Andrew Gustafson (reprinted with his permission)

Beyond the fire itself:

“2nd order effects:
These arsonists took an entire fire crew out of their station in the middle of the night to deal with this, making them unavailable to respond to another call.

They endangered lives in this community by taking that truck out of rotation, they cost the taxpayers money to roll that truck to the fire,  all that in addition to the real dollar damages they did to this property owner.

All because they did not respect the free speech and property rights of the property owner.

There are those who equate speech with violence,  those who think that if they come across speech that offends them,  they consider it appropriate to respond to that speech not with more speech, but instead with violence.

The response to speech you do not agree with must always be more speech, never violence.”

From Senator Doug Ericksen:

“This is the face of fascism and the pure hate that has taken over the Democratic Party.  This is not new. Bush signs were also burned. America is at a tipping point.”

From Keep America Great Committee Chair: Jim Mckinney; Trump campaign in Whatcom County:

“Progressives carry so much anger and hate for people who don’t agree with them, how is this justified? In America, we cherish people’s rights to disagree, think, speak, worship and participate in political discourse without threat of retaliation. There is no justification in a civil society for this type of action. We cannot allow it to become acceptable.

From Kathy Kershner: Chair Whatcom GOP

“This act of violence was a direct attack on our first amendment rights to free speech. We are taking this very seriously and working with law enforcement and the property owners to identify the perpetrators of this hate crime.”