Lake County ‘Toot for Trump' sign vandalized

Sign was set to come down, or risk fine for code violation

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – A sign dedicated to supporting President Trump in Lake County was vandalized this week a few days before its owners were going to have to either remove it, or face a fine.

The homemade sign in Lake County resident Elaine Simmons' backyard has read "Toot For Trump," as well as "Proud to be an American," and, "We Stand for the National Anthem." 

Right now, its message, “Proud to be an American,” is spray painted over with a phrase made infamous by the president himself, suggesting one grab a female’s body parts.

"I looked out my window and you could see the back side was spray painted so I went running down,"Simmons told News 6. "I would hope it wasn't kids. I think it was an adult."

A large fence separates the sign from North Hancock Road just outside Minneola, near the Florida Turnpike, as well as a second fence with barbed wire.

“I hope the barbed wire got them,” Simmons wrote on Facebook.

Over the past year, the sign has changed slogans a couple of times, from "Make America Great Again," to, "Deplorables for Trump." 

On Oct. 9, Simmons received a letter from the Lake County government telling her the sign is a code violation because it’s been up for almost a year, not because of the messages on it.

“Our code does not permit a temporary sign such as this to be in place for more than 90 days,” a Lake County representative told News 6. “We are aware that this sign has been up since at least November 2016."

The Simmons were given 14 days to comply for the ordinance, or risk being fined. The sign was vandalized just a few days before it was supposed to come down.

 "Somebody is hopping a barb wire fence and defacing it," Simmons said. "Whether they agree with our philosophy or not, that's no excuse for them coming on our property and doing what they did."

The Simmons family cleaned up the sign and plan to take it down in the next several days to comply with code enforcement.


About the Author:

It has been an absolute pleasure for Clay LePard living and working in Orlando since he joined News 6 in July 2017. Previously, Clay worked at WNEP TV in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he brought viewers along to witness everything from unprecedented access to the Tobyhanna Army Depot to an interview with convicted double-murderer Hugo Selenski.