CAPE CORAL, Fla. -- Donald Trump campaign signs in Southwest Florida have been vandalized a day after a Trump campaign office was fire-bombed in North Carolina.
Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump blamed supporters of Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton on Monday, after a fire-bomb was thrown into GOP headquarters in Hillsborough, North Carolina. A graffiti message reading, "Nazi Republicans leave town or else," was tagged on the building.
Vandalism on a couple of Cape Coral Trump signs was eerily similar. Two large signs displayed on Del Prado Boulevard and Kismet Parkway were spray-painted with bright orange swastikas. One of those signs was pulled out of the ground. "It's horrible. It's absolutely disgusting," said Sheila Sweeney, who volunteers locally for the Trump campaign.
She put the signs up on her friend's property per his request. After this and the fire-bombing at the campaign office in North Carolina, Sweeney said some have concerns. "My significant other said, 'I don't know if I want you going to the office to make phone calls or volunteer,' because that's what I do," Sweeney said. "I'm hoping it's just juveniles out for mischief. I don't know. I would hope it's not anyone from the democratic campaign because we wouldn't do anything like that to them."
Steven Martin, the co-chair for the Trump campaign in Lee County, said despite the violent incident in North Carolina, the Cape Coral office won't take any more precautions than normal. "Of course I feel safe. This is Fort Myers, Cape Coral, there's nothing to worry about," he said. "Any type of political violence has no place in America."
Vandalism or not, Sweeney said she will not be scared out of supporting Trump. "I'm still going to do it. I'm a woman, I'm supporting Trump, I'm still voting for him."
Meanwhile, Secretary Clinton did tweet about the North Carolina incident, calling it "horrific and unacceptable." Democrats joined a campaign to raise money to re-open the office, which has since re-opened a make-shift operation outside of the building. The goal was met in less than 40 minutes.
