Update #2: On Saturday, KARE 11's Lou Raguse reported in People react to theft of 244 yard signs in Alexandria, allegedly by political candidate's wife:
Wendy Hoff faces one misdemeanor charge so far as the county attorney reviews the bizarre case.
. . .A worker at a local gun shop saw a woman snatching political signs from the lawn outside and said he snapped a photo she posed for before driving away with the signs in her van.
"They're mad. They're frustrated," said Alexandria Police Chief Scott Kent.
Kent said his department put together a number of similar reports describing the same suspect stealing signs. They wrote a search warrant, raided the suspect's home, and say they found 244 lawn signs in the garage — from realtor ads and political signs to random garage sales.
"It was pretty much non-discriminatory," Kent said.
The suspect is Wendy Hoff, who has been charged with misdemeanor theft in one of the cases while the county attorney decides how to handle the rest.
She's the wife of Judd Hoff, the local DFL-endorsed candidate running for Minnesota House of Representatives against his neighbor, Republican Mary Franson. [end update #2]
Updated: Late this afternoon, the Alexandria Echo Press's Travis Glubrandson reported Wendy Hoff named in Douglas County search warrant:
Court documents reveal that the address of the search warrant executed Wednesday, Aug. 7, in Alexandria was that of Wendy Hoff, whose husband Judd Hoff is running for a seat in the state House of Representatives.
According to a press release issued Thursday, Aug. 8, more than 240 signs were recovered at the address located on the 2700 block of Le Homme Dieu Heights.
The signs include political campaign signs, real estate signs, special events and advertising.
The search warrant reads that the signs were both large and small and included those advertising Donald Trump, Gov. Tim Walz, Calvary Lutheran, Art in the Park, Casey's Amusement, ReMax, the Vikingland Parade, Legacy of the Lakes, Hoffman Produce and many others.
Wendy Hoff is cited as a suspect in multiple thefts dating back to last month, the warrant reads. . ..
Read the rest of the details at the Echo Press. [end update]
I heard a snippet about this story on Minnesota Public Radio, and so sought reports about it on local media in Alexandria MN.
At the Alexandria Echo Press, Celeste Edenloff reported 240 signs, including political campaign signs, seized in search warrant of an Alexandria home The house is located in the 2700 block of Le Homme Dieu Heights.
Over at the Voice of Alexandria radio station, there's Search warrant results in over 240 signs being recovered at area home. Mark Anthony reports:
(Alexandria, MN)--On Wednesday, the Alexandria Police Department executed a search warrant in the 2700 block of Le Homme Dieu Heights in Alexandria. This investigation has spanned over several months and there are dozens of reports of stolen signs; the signs include political campaign signs, real estate signs, special events, and advertising. Officials will be working with the victims of the stolen signs to return them and get them back to their rightful owner.
Law enforcement says there were over 240 signs recovered at the search warrant and this will take some time to contact all the victims and return them. They say to please be patient with us as this is an ongoing investigation and we are working as quickly as we can to return the signs to the victims.
As of this time, no arrests made. However, reports are being sent to the county attorney's office for review.
That block seemed familiar to me, though only from reading candidate profiles on the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board's webpage.
Both parties' candidates for Minnesota House 12B live on that block.
The CFB record for endorsed DFL candidate Judd Hoff lists "2749 Le Homme Dieu Hts NE Alexandria, MN 56308" as his address.
His opponent, incumbent Republican Mary Franson? 2740 Le Homme Dieu Hts NE Alexandria, MN 56308.
I'd posted on X:
Jeepers, 2 #mnhouse candidates live on that block & I don't think the culprit is Mary Franson.
— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) August 8, 2024
240 signs, including political campaign signs, seized in search warrant of an Alexandria home--the 2700 block of Le Homme Dieu Heights. #mnleghttps://t.co/kZcPpJZb6P
A source in Alexandria tells Bluestem Prairie that the warrant was served at the Hoff residence. The source didn't know which campaigns had their signs stolen, but that an Alexandria Avon lady had been asked to pickup her purloined sign.
Bluestem will let readers know if this information is confirmed.
Earlier this year, Bluestem had posted about his controversial endorsement beginning with News digest: DFL House District 12B Judd Hoff endorsement wasn't a winner.
As I noted in that mid-April news digest, at the Star Tribune, Briana Bierschbach reported in DFL faces backlash for endorsing state House candidate accused of harassing Republican incumbent:
Minnesota Republicans are calling on state Democrats to rescind the endorsement of Judd Hoff, a candidate for a state House seat with a criminal record who has been accused of stalking and harassing the incumbent Republican legislator.
Hoff was endorsed this month by local Democrats to run in a central Minnesota House district that's been represented by Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria, since 2011.
Republicans say Hoff has harassed and stalked Franson for years, "digging through her trash, publishing her address and contact information, filming her at her private residence, and relentlessly sending rude and threatening messages online," said Rep. Josh Heintzeman, R-Nisswa, chair of the House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC).
"While I have no doubt that Rep. Franson will overwhelmingly win re-election, this man belongs nowhere near the ballot and the DFL should make clear that this behavior will not be tolerated," he added.
State GOP Party Chair David Hann said in a statement that the endorsement "normalizes his threatening behavior towards Representative Mary Franson" and must be immediately rescinded.
Hoff did not respond to a call to a phone number listed on a previous campaign page. On his current campaign Facebook page, he said he's a full-time construction worker, married with children and grandchildren and "a bit of an activist and political agitator in my spare time."
DFL Party Chair Ken Martin said in a statement that the state party "strongly disavows this endorsement" and he's asked the local party unit to "withdraw their endorsement immediately. . ..
On his campaign Facebook page, Hoff noted his felon status:
Under see more in that post, there's this:
. . . I delivered two short speeches, one before the vote and one after being endorsed. In them I expressed several important points:1. Since 2023 in Minnesota, convicted felons can now vote. Even those still on papers. Many of us know relatives, friends and co-workers who have run afoul of the law at some point in their life. In fact, 8% of the population is comprised of convicted felons.That's 1 in 12 people. The DFL has restored their voting rights through state law, and as long as they aren't currently incarcerated, they can register and vote just like anyone else. Spread the word! The DFL is THEIR party, and they need to be told that they are allowed, in Minnesota at least, to once again participate in their democracy as full-fledged citizens, no different than anyone else. . . .Perhaps I'm just a poor country blogger who doesn't understand the law very well--I posted about it Wednesday in MN state supreme court upholds law restoring voting rights to felons freed from incarceration-- but Bluestem imagines it's probably best for the candidates and other felons to avoid reoffending.
As news reports note, there are no charges resulting as yet from discoveries made after the warrant was served, nor has local media confirmed the exact address where the hundreds of signs were discovered.
According to campaign finance records, Hoff's campaign reported taking in $229.99 in cash and in-kind donations in its amended pre-primary campaign finance report.
An X post about the details, based on the initial report:
Judd Hoff, the guy spent a stint in the slammer for an incident involving an American flag and a machete, and who would later go on to dig through his opponent Mary Franson's trash can and mail unopened Christmas cards back to their senders, has raised $119.99 this year. pic.twitter.com/XbaELMFAdr
— Your Unburdened Pal Donavon 🌴🦃 (@hellodonavon) July 30, 2024
Perhaps the campaign planned to repurpose the boosted signs. The new EchoPress article reports:
. . . Over the course of the investigation, a deputy spoke with Hoff regarding one of her husband's signs being removed from the public right of way by law enforcement.
Body camera footage was taken of Hoff on July 10, which allegedly included statements from Hoff expressing frustration with her husband's sign being taken.
Hoff allegedly made the statements, "If I put a sign within 12 feet of this property, by law you as a person could come by and take that piece of property because it's in the right of way." . . .
Curiously, there's no report of spending for campaign signs in Hoff's pre-primary report nor the amended report.
No one can say DFL state party chair Ken Martin didn't try to warn the local DFLers.
Photo: Repurposing other candidates' campaign signs. From the Judd Hoff campaign Facebook page on April 16.
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