Trump supporter says signs, flags repeatedly vandalized

KIRKLAND, Wash. — A supporter of President Donald Trump says his prominent display of admiration for the president has made his Eastside home a target.

And he has had enough.

According to Jed Darland, the signs and "pandemic party" he held Sunday represent the freedom in this country to proudly express one's personal beliefs.

But his neighbors have been anything but proud to have this on their street. 

You certainly can't miss Darland's house on leafy State Street in Kirkland, nor where his political heart lies this presidential election year. 

"Correct, yeah," he said. "I'm very proud of our president." 

Back in March, this was a modest display. 

"We started with two Trump signs, one on the corner and the one closest to the corner," Darland said. "And we had a huge American flag that I got at a hardware store that went out of business." 

From the start, he said, his neighbors took exception to it. 

"As soon as we put (up) the signs, we started having vandalism," Darland said. "People would come and tear out the signs. Yeah, within a few days." 

He soon planted a Make America Great Again flower bed and installed video cameras that captured his neighbors in the act. 

Vandals "left bleach at our door," he said. "Told us to kill ourselves. Called our daughter the 'c' word." 

None of it surprises Jeff Denton, a Trump supporter from Sammamish who happened to stop by. 

"Oh, no," Denton said, "because it's happening everywhere. If you don't believe what the mob believes, you get vandalized." 

Darland stopped adding to his Trump display, and he said the vandalism has abated for the most part. A man comes by regularly and spits on his MAGA flowers. 

Sometimes he gets apologies from Democrats upset over the vandalism and harrassment he and his family have endured. 

“I tell them, ‘don’t worry. Don’t feel sorry for me.’ If people didn’t damage my flowers, they would just be a beautiful garden. Right now, these flowers are an opportunity to educate people all over the country about progressivism and the root of progressivism and where they think we should go. And it’s not a nice place,” Darland said. 

He has made nine police reports in connection with the vandalism. Kirkland police have made some arrests. 

Darland said he hopes it all will just stop before someone in his family gets hurt.

Cox Media Group