Political sign vandal gets fine, probation

A Town of Saukville man who repeatedly ran over his neighbor’s political signs because he didn’t want to see them anymore pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of criminal damage to property last week.

Daniel Seyfert, 51, was found guilty by Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Sandy Williams and sentenced to a year probation and 25 hours of community service.

The charges came as partisan tensions peaked and political divisions widened leading up to the presidential election in November.

Ted Poull, who lives on Shady Lane in the Town of Saukville, told a sheriff’s deputy that his yard signs supporting Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden had been run over six times before he installed a trail camera on his property. The camera paid off when on Oct. 18 a vehicle drove over his lawn and struck the yard signs.    

The signs included a 3-by-5-foot sign that stated “Veterans for Biden” and “No I.D. Required” that incorporated images of the U.S. flag and Poull’s military uniform.

The trail camera photo showed a black vehicle with a distinctive skull emblem in the rear window, and deputies circulated the image, ultimately identifying a black Crown Victoria with a “Punisher” skull with “Trump hair” on the back, according to the criminal complaint.

Deputy Stefan Van Pamel ultimately stopped at Seyfert’s residence, where he saw a car with minor damage to the front end that matched the description, minus the skull emblem, the complaint states.

Seyfert told Van Pamel that he was the only person who drove the vehicle but repeatedly denied striking the signs, the complaint states. Seyfert later admitted to striking the signs, but said it was an accident when he swerved to avoid a deer and ultimately admitted to intentionally striking the signs because “he was tired of seeing them,” according to the complaint.

He also admitted to removing the skull emblem after the incident.

In a victim witness statement to the court, Poull said that Seyfert’s actions were an insult to veterans, saying the medals on the uniform pictured on the sign represented the sacrifices made by members of the military who defend the country and the rights of all citizens, including the right to free speech.

Two related charges filed against Seyfert — a traffic charge of hit and run and criminal damage to property — were dismissed.

Seyfert was ordered to pay $500 in restitution, money Poull said he plans to donate to the Ozaukee County Deputy Association in recognition of the work deputies put into the case.

“I think they did all they could and I’m grateful for it,” Poull said in an interview Tuesday.

“It was just driving over the sign, but it was about more, about what it meant.”