John Oliveira, a member of the New Bedford, Massachusetts School Committee, expressed his support for Donald Trump by installing a presidential campaign poster in front of his house. But opponents of Trump’s re-election for a second term regularly stole this poster.
Then Oliveira, an invalid and a veteran of the navy, decided to resort to extraordinary measures: he built a fence of metal mesh around the poster, through which an electric current passed.
Oliveira claims the poster has been stolen six times since May. And after he put up an “electrified” fence a few weeks ago, the abductions stopped. “I protect my property and my right to free speech,” says Oliveira. “I do not intend to remove this poster just because someone does not like what is written on it.”
A 3 1/2 feet high solar-powered mesh fence he purchased from a farm equipment supplier. It has warning signs in English, Spanish and French.