FBI Says Sign Urging Citizens to ‘Neutralize’ Trump Is ‘Awful’ but ‘Not Unlawful’

Residents of a town in upstate New York have complained to the FBI about a sign that appears to call for President Trump to be “neutralized,” prompting an investigation that concluded that the sign was “awful” but “not unlawful.”The incident feeds into a wider national debate about what constitutes a threat following last week’s indictment of a former FBI director, James Comey, over his posting of an image of seashells spelling out “86-47.”The sign, near the entrance to the 560-resident town of North Creek, was put up by a 92-year-old man, Robert Nessle, and his wife, Kelly Nessle, and prominently features the letters “DJT.”“He lies constantly, has killed hundreds of people in boats and bombing other countries! And now he is killing American citizens!” the sign reads. “He will die a cursed man. He must be neutralized.”The sign, which misspells “oblivion,” adds, “Get ready, vote the guy into obiivion … Vote this year.”Several residents have taken issue with the use of the word “neutralize.”One resident, Janet Konis, shared a picture of the sign on Facebook and wrote, “My town allows, threats on a billboard, with this call to action to ‘neutralize’ right on Main Street, North Creek. Put up by Bob and Kelly Nessle to welcome tourist and business [sic] to Johnsburg, NY. With this kind of hate, do you feel comfortable bring your family to this town? You can’t vote this guy out, he’s not running!”One person commented, “Wow … that’s extremely disturbing.”Another person wrote, “I don’t care what side you are on that is disgusting.”“That’s kinda scary!” another user said. The Nessles insisted to an outlet focused on the Adirondack region, the Adirondack Explorer, that they are not calling for someone to kill Mr. Trump.Ms. Nessle told Adirondack Explorer, “It’s a generational thing, [neutralize] means to render ineffective.”She said that Hollywood movies have led the “younger generation” to view the word “neutralize” as meaning to kill, but added, “We don’t watch those kinds of movies.”Mr. Nessle said he is pleased that the sign has sparked debate, and added that his only regret is that he misspelled “oblivion” on the sign.However, the Warren County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI received multiple complaints about the sign’s language. The undersheriff, Terry Comeau, told the Adirondack Explorer that “someone or ones called it into the FBI.”A representative with the sheriff’s department told the Adirondack Explorer that the FBI called the sign “awful” but “not unlawful.”While law enforcement has declared the sign lawful, some people upset by the message decided to take matters into their own hands. The New York State Police are now investigating the matter after Mr. Nessle said someone destroyed his sign by cutting a hole through the center of it.The town supervisor of North Creek, Sterling Goodspeed, told the Adirondack Explorer, “We’ve clearly crossed a barrier here where it appears that someone has gone on someone’s property and gone into the criminal realm. It has highlighted how intense the divisions are.”Mr. Nessle told the magazine that he plans to leave the remnants of his sign up “for a week or so and let people see what goes on in this town.” He added that he plans on developing a new sign to encourage people to vote in the midterm elections. The small town drama over the sign comes amid a larger debate about free speech and charges against a former FBI director, James Comey. While the FBI determined that Mr. Nessle’s sign was lawful, Mr. Comey was indicted late last month for allegedly threatening Mr. Trump by posting a photo of seashells that spelled out the numbers “86 47.” He wrote, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”Mr. Comey has deleted the post and said he did not “realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.” While “86” is used in the service industry as shorthand for tossing something out, conservatives and members of the Trump administration have insisted the post was a call to assassinate the president. Critics of the president say the prosecution is meant to punish one of his longtime foes. Free speech advocates argue that Mr. Comey’s post did not constitute a “true threat.” The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression says the phrase is “part of political discourse” as it notes that in 2022, a conservative commentator, Jack Posobiec, posted “86 46” about President Biden and “rightly faced no criminal charges.”

FBI Says Sign Urging Citizens to ‘Neutralize’ Trump Is ‘Awful’ but ‘Not Unlawful’

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