Political signs for both parties across Westmoreland County being vandalized

WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — Vandalism of political signs continued to plague both parties in Westmoreland County.

From Unity Township to Murrysville, local democratic leaders have found campaign signs destroyed in recent weeks.

”It was the very first 4-by-8 sign in the entire sprawling geographic portion of Westmoreland County. It didn’t last even 24 hours,” Michelle McFall, chair of Westmoreland County Democratic Committee, said.

A Josh Shapiro sign was bludgeoned in Unity Township in September, then a John Fetterman sign was carefully cut in Murrysville late last week.

“It seemed very deliberate. And my first response is, this is part of a pattern that we’ve experienced from day one in this county,” McFall said.

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“It’s an unfortunate reality of the political season there,” said Bill Bretz, chair of Westmoreland County Republican Committee.

Republican leaders said they are seeing similar incidents of vandalism.

”We had one large-format sign that was defaced with graffiti along the roadside and we had another one at the county fair that was slashed by somebody,” Bretz said.

We asked party leaders if the recent targeted destruction may lead to more security on hand at the polls in a few weeks.

”We haven’t made any official requests. We assume our constables are on call and the county has a hotline and we’re just offering numbers to call and for people to be aware,” McFall said.

Both the Murrysville and Unity Township incidents were reported to police.

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