What Defines Vandalism? Political Comments on Public Display Causes Uproar

Were political messages scrawled on the replica Declaration of Independence hanging at the Historical Courthouse in Carmel an act of vandalism, or an exercise of one’s First Amendment right? Photo provided by the Putnam County Executive’s Office.

By Holly Crocco

As part of continuing countywide celebrations of America’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne is notifying residents that another larger-than-life replica of the document will be on display at the Putnam County 4-H Fair & Showcase at the end of the month, for residents and visitors to sign.

The original display – which debuted at the “Putnam County Heroes: Battle the Redcoats” reenactment in June, and traveled to various county events throughout the month where community members signed their names to an item that was intended to become an “artifact” in the county’s history – was “defaced” over the Fourth of July weekend.

Statements such as “500 years genocide,” “Congress r all nerds,” and “5,000 children in concentration camps,” as well as the word “ICE” after the portion of the document that states “…the right of the People to alter or abolish,” were unwelcome on what was supposed to be a fun, interactive piece of public property erected to celebrate America’s 250^th birthday.

“On the afternoon of July 4, local law enforcement learned the display had been defaced with political graffiti,” explained Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne. “Our County Historian’s Office promptly removed the display to preserve history and the matter was referred to law enforcement for further investigation. Security footage from law enforcement personnel, along with surveillance cameras monitoring the Historic Courthouse and county complex, do exist and are being reviewed to help verify the identities of those responsible.”

Only a few days later, July 8, Byrne was notified that the newly restored Sybil Ludington statue on Lake Gleneida in Carmel appeared to have been graffitied with paint. The recent rainfall, it is assumed, made whatever was written or drawn illegible.

The statue recently underwent a $100,000 restoration and was re-mounted just days prior. (See story, page 8.) According to Byrne, that renovation included an outer layer of wax coat that seems to have protected Putnam’s heroine, and the restoration team was able to remove the graffiti.

Byrne said it’s unknown if the two acts are related.

As news started to circulate about the document being removed from public access due to “vandalism,” the conversation turned to how one defines that word.

According Byrne, the document was left hanging on the Historic Courthouse in Carmel with a note encouraging passersby to sign it … Not leave political comments.

“In my opinion, signing the Declaration of Independence means signing your name,” he said. “A lot of people participated in this civic engagement on public display.”

That includes hundreds of children, parents, residents, and visitors who signed the document as a symbolic affirmation of the nation’s founding ideals, he said.

“The Declaration of Independence is our nation’s founding document,” continued Byrne. “Regardless of political beliefs, it deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Every American enjoys the constitutional right to free speech, but intentionally defacing a public display created for families to celebrate our history and heritage is not an act of civic engagement; it is an act of gross disrespect.”

However, according to law enforcement, no laws were broken seeing as individuals were encouraged to write on the document.

“Those present were merely exercising their First Amendment rights by participating in an activity the county invited everyone to partake in,” said one resident in an email to the newspaper.

When State Sen. Pete Harckham, D-Peekskill, heard the news, he also denounced the actions of violators.

“Freedom of speech is a fundamental tenet of our society, but defacing historic monuments only fuels division rather than meaningful dialogue,” he said. “Thank you to our local law enforcement agencies and Putnam County officials for their swift response to this situation.”

This drew criticism from some residents, with one commenting: “So we’re all clear what happened here: the county put out a sheet of paper with the Declaration of Independence on it for folks to leave messages on that would be put in a time capsule… Then, it turned out they didn’t like some of those messages, and they flipped out and cried ‘vandalism’ before admitting that nothing of the sort occurred.”

Regardless, a second replica of the Declaration of Independence has already been secured and will be available for residents to sign during the Putnam County 4-H Fair & Showcase on July 25 and 26 at Veterans Memorial Park in Carmel/Kent.

“I encourage everyone who shares our love of country and appreciation for our nation’s founding ideals to stop by, add your ‘John Hancock,’ and help demonstrate that respect for American history will always outweigh those who seek to diminish it,” said Byrne.