A North Carolina man accused of vandalizing a yard sign that read “TRUMP WON” has been identified as James Dennis White Jr., according to a civil lawsuit filed this week.
The complaint, which was filed by John Kane of Raleigh on Aug. 21, implies that the alleged arsonist is facing several misdemeanor counts including trespassing and personal property damage.
Mr. Kane, a businessman and political activist, posted home surveillance footage of the incident on social media on Aug. 18, offering a $1,000 reward for anyone who could identify the suspect.
$1,000 reward for the ID of this arsonist – help me make him a felon. #trump #trumpwon #ncpol pic.twitter.com/g8JLoZSQ70
— John Kane (@johnmkane1776) August 18, 2023
The surveillance footage initially shows a man repeatedly trying to kick the sign down after pulling his bicycle onto Mr. Kane’s front lawn at about 7 a.m. on Aug. 12, but it appears the strikes did not achieve the desired results.
Seemingly triggered by the sign supporting former President Donald Trump, subsequent surveillance footage posted by Mr. Kane shows a man who appears to be the same cyclist returning to the property with a lighter in the early morning hours of Aug. 15, setting fire to the outdoor sign mounted in a wooded area. After Mr. Kane then replaced the charred sign, the alleged arsonist returned on Aug. 18 to set fire to the new sign as well.
“The audacity of that is frightening,” Mr. Kane told WRAL News. “There are lots of signs I see I don’t care for. But I’ve not set one on fire.”
Mr. White was reportedly tracked down by a man from California who wished to remain anonymous. The internet sleuth linked the suspect’s tattoos, bicycle, and helmet, to a profile on Strava—a U.S. internet service used to track exercise routines, including cycling, Mr. Kane wrote in a post on X, formerly called Twitter, noting the app showed “timestamped maps” of the suspect’s rides that corresponded with the time stamps on the surveillance footage.
I sent him $1,000 as promised a few minutes ago and will be sharing his information with @Timcast and @bennyjohnson so that they can do the same. I am truly grateful to each of you for lending your audience and money to catching this arsonist.
— John Kane (@johnmkane1776) August 21, 2023
“I sent him $1,000 as promised a few minutes ago,” Mr. Kane said in a post on Aug. 21. He also pointed out that the information has been forwarded to podcast host Benny Johnson and Timcast CEO Tim Pool, who both added an additional $5,000 to the original reward after the surveillance footage of the incident went viral.
Cycling Route Tracked
According to the lawsuit, which is being represented by U.S. Attorney James R. Lawrence III, the suspect’s GPS data was uploaded to his Strava account and confirmed that he rode past Mr. Kane’s home on a number of cycling rides, which all match the dates on which the sign was vandalized.
The complaint also alleges Mr. White described the cycling rides in “humorous terms” on the app, labeling it under the heading: “Wade Ave AGo Go!!!”
“This was no high school prank,” Mr. Lawrence wrote in the lawsuit, adding the suspect “could have respectfully engaged with John in any number of ways.”
“Unfortunately, in a pre-meditated fashion, White chose to literally start a fire on John’s property and destroy his political adversary’s property—not once, but twice,” the attorney alleged.
In a video posted on X, Mr. Kane noted that the sign was placed under a large tree in his front yard with the American flag installed right above it. He said he was grateful for framing the sign in steel because the fire could have spread to the trees on his property, endangering his family, including three young children, who were sleeping inside at the time of the incident.
“This is not okay in America. I don’t care who you support politically, none of us can accept a country where someone can be so triggered by someone’s support of a majority party political candidate, that they come and commit premeditated arson on their home—really in an attempt to kill them,” he said. “It’s not a stretch … that that fire goes from that tree to that tree to my house.”
Mr. Kane told WRAL News that the vandalism began “many months ago” and he already had to replace the sign several times after it was spray-painted a number of times before ultimately being set ablaze.
“It was spray painted, I believe, three times, [and] knocked over once or twice. I realize it’s a controversial sign, but I think it’s important for each side in our country to have a voice,” he told the publication.
According to Mr. Kane’s campaign website, he was appointed in 2013 to serve a six-year term on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina State Ports Authority. From 2016 to 2022, he also served as CEO of Capstone Event Group, an operator of sports and event management services for hosting endurance events.