Police in Massachusetts are conducting an arson and vandalism investigation after several political signs, including one for Vice President Kamala Harris, were set on fire last week, according to a news release from the Sterling Police Department.
The news release said that on October 17, officers were dispatched along with the city's fire department to attend a blaze on a property's front lawn, where several political signs had been set on fire.
In addition to the sign for Harris, signs for Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Jim McGovern were also set alight, seemingly targeting Democratic candidates, according to Boston.com.
The man whose signs were set on fire, Blaine Bershad, posted a video of them ablaze on Facebook and questioned if the town was safe for him to live in.
He wrote that police were only alerted that the signs were on fire because a neighbor was coming home and saw them burning.
Bershad also said that the fire could have spread quickly and become much larger due to the dry surroundings and a lack of fire hydrants.
He wrote, "It was just a few signs, easily replaced. The point is clear the signs are about free speech. This act shows a lack of respect for other's opinions as well as other's properties."
Bershad continued, "We feel threatened, wouldn't you? This is how it starts. Fascism is alive in Sterling, Massachusetts."
Newsweek has reached out to Bershad for comment via Facebook.
Newsweek has also reached out to the Sterling Police Department for comment via email.
Bershad, 72, has reportedly been a resident of Sterling for more than three decades and chairs the elected Department of Public Works Board as well as being an active participant in the state Democratic Party and the Sterling Democratic Town Committee, according to USA Today.
He told the outlet that he has friends who are Republican, as well as Democrat, and has never felt targeted for his political beliefs in the town before.
Bershad's partner, Will Sherwood, told NBC Boston, "I'm sad for the psychology of the person that did this, 'cause what does it accomplish? What did they expect us to do? Change our vote? Change our signs?"
In response to the incident and Bershad's post, McGovern also took to Facebook to condemn the arsonist's actions and wrote, "There is no place for this type of intimidation in American politics, full stop. But this is only going to make us work harder. When we work hard—we win!"
There is no evidence pointing to the political leanings, if any, of the person or persons responsible for the fire or that the act was politically motivated.
Newsweek has contacted the Trump campaign via email for comment.
The couple reportedly plan to finish installing video cameras in their yard and then place more than triple the number of signs they had up before, according to CBS News.
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