Jolt of support: Bellingham man adds electricity to Trump signs

Critics of Donald Trump should be ready for a shock if they plan to steal any pro-Trump yard signs from at least one property in Bellingham.

Trump supporter Ray Gilbride had no luck getting response from police after having several Trump signs stolen from his property, so he took matters into his own hands. Specifically, Gilbride hooked up a 1.5-joule electric fence to the signs.

“It’ll light you up a little bit,” Gilbride told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson. “Especially if you’re standing in wet grass.”

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Gilbride caught one female on his surveillance camera attempting to steal the electrified sign. Though the jolt didn’t keep her from following through on her mission, it did provide him with some laughs.

“This young lady came running through and she grabs the signs, pulls them out and that’s where you can see plain as day, the jolt hit her a little bit,” he said. “She just stopped, just a dead stop, and soon as the pulsing was done, she kinda got her senses and ripped them out and took off running down the street. But it was a pretty funny video.”

Gilbride has received criticism for this tactic but says he spoke to police about how he could legally protect his property. A non-lethal electric fence that was made to deliver a pulsating charge is a fine method, he said.

“It would have been different if somebody hooked it to a 110 (volt) outlet and watched somebody get hurt,” he said.

“We live in a society that’s gone so backwards. First of all, if people stopped being friends with their kids and started being parents, maybe some of it wouldn’t happen. The fact is, stealing is stealing. I’m getting a lot of that criticism, too, people saying it’s just a sign. Why do we prosecute kids for stealing just a candy bar? Situational ethics is wrong. Stealing is stealing. You’ve got to go back to the basics. If it’s not yours don’t touch it.”

Dori agrees.

“It’s this bizarre notion that a lot of people don’t seem to grasp that behavior has consequences and sometimes when you steal, maybe bad stuff should happen to you,” Dori said.

Update: Gilbride sent footage from his surveillance camera.

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