Trump sign arsonist pleads guilty, receives probationary sentence
James D. White Jr. was sentenced to 12 months probation, with 45 days in jail suspended after pleading guilty to two Class 2 misdemeanor counts of Injury to Personal Property
James D. White Jr. was sentenced today to 12 months probation after pleading guilty to setting fire to a pro-Trump sign in the front yard of a Raleigh home last fall.
White was identified by internet sleuths and charged by the Raleigh Police shortly after a video posted by the homeowner went viral and an $11k+ reward was offered.
The video of the incidents shared by the homeowner, John Kane, showed that White first attacked his "Trump Won" sign/flag on the morning of August 12th, 2023 by stopping to ineffectually kick it as he rode by on his bicycle. However, White returned three days later on the 15th, and set the flag on fire. Kane replaced the flag, only to have White return on the 18th to set it on fire once again.
Kane took the video of the incident to the public with a post on Twitter/X, offering a reward of $1,000 for the identification of the arsonist. As the video went viral, the reward was supplemented by an additional $5,000 from Tim Pool, and another $5,000 from Benny Johnson.
White was identified less than 48 hours later based on his account on Strava, a popular fitness app, where he had publicly shared the GPS routes he had cycled on the mornings he attacked Kane's sign.
The next day after he was identified, August 21st, White was issued a citation by Raleigh Police for two counts of a Class 1 misdemeanor (Injury to Real Property). The citation reports includes notes from the officer that White "confessed to both crimes on separate dates", that he was "polite and cooperative", and "remorseful in what he did".
At the time, Kane posted a video accusing the Democrat Wake County DA, Lorrin Freeman, of being a "regime apparatchik", and arguing that White should have been charged with a Class H felony, Burning of Personal Property.
Today, White was allowed to plead down to less serious Class 2 misdemeanors (Injury to Personal Property). White received a sentence of 12 months probation, with a suspended sentence of 45 days in jail.
As part of his probationary sentence, White is also required to:
Complete 80 hours of community service
Not contact the victim, John Kane Jr.
Not return to within 500 feet of Kane's residence, where the crimes took place
After giving a victim impact statement at White's sentencing hearing, Kane shared the following on Twitter/X:
James D White, the Trump Sign arsonist, plead guilty to two counts of destruction of personal property this morning. He was sentenced to 12 months probation and 80 hours of community service.
I gave a victim impact statement, articulating among other things that the first amendment is chilled if such brazen, premeditated assault on free speech is not met with real consequences.
In his closing, White’s defense attorney stated that he wholly agreed with me on the importance of the first amendment. However, where he and his client disagreed is that the first amendment should not protect the perpetuation of lies.
Naturally, his underlying assumption is that people who share his world view are the arbiters of truth and in turn should be able to decide what speech is protected and what should be set one fire.
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“The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.” - George Orwell
I wonder if there is a similar case where the sign was for a Democrat.