Buster
Trump Fan Clobbered Biden Backer In Lawn Sign Dispute, Police Say
A dispute between next-door neighbors over the placement of political yard signs turned violent, with a Donald Trump supporter punching a Joe Biden backer in the face, Florida cops allege.
According to police, a confrontation Friday afternoon resulted in the arrest of Anthony Vullo, 55, on a misdemeanor battery charge.
Vullo, seen at right, reportedly was miffed that Joseph Lebert, 48, had placed a Biden sign in front of his Trump sign, thus obscuring it from the view of passing cars and pedestrians on their street in DeBary, a city 25 miles north of Orlando.
Vullo is a registered Republican, while Lebert is a registered Democrat, according to state voter records.
After a witness notified him that Vullo had “took his political yard sign from his yard and threw it across the yard,” Lebert confronted his neighbor. Lebert told cops Vullo “stated it was rude of him to place a political yard sign in front of his own and blocking it from view.”
Lebert said that he and Vullo then pushed each other before Vullo punched him in the face. Though he had “obvious signs of injury over his left eye,” Lebert declined medical treatment, police reported.
While Vullo admitted that he “tossed” Lebert’s Biden sign, he claimed that he only punched Lebert after his neighbor swung at him and missed. A witness, however, corroborated Lebert’s account of the incident.
After being booked into the county jail, Vullo was released on his own recognizance in advance of his September 14 arraignment on the misdemeanor count. He has been ordered by a judge to have no contact with Lebert, and has been prohibited from possessing firearms or other weapons, according to a pretrial supervision order.
As seen below, the Vullo and Lebert residences share a contiguous front lawn that is only separated by a picket fence fragment.