PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A sign for a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Rhode Island was hung Tuesday from a noose in front of a home.
Cranston Mayor Allan Fung said that displaying his campaign sign in Glocester like that is disgusting and hateful. WPRO-AM posted a photo Tuesday on Twitter of the upside down sign.
“Think about the message that this is sending to many of the kids in that neighborhood,” Fung said at his campaign headquarters.
Homeowner Ray Izzo said he’s upset Fung didn’t participate in the typical series of debates before the primary and believes he’s within his rights to keep the display, according to WJAR-TV . He said it’s not about race, it’s about taxes.
Fung, who would become the state’s first Asian-American governor if he wins, is challenging Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo in November. Joe Trillo, who chaired President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign in Rhode Island, is running as an independent.
The homeowner’s lawn also displayed signs for Trillo and for Robert Flanders, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate, right-side up.
Trillo and Flanders both said they don’t condone the conduct and they feel the display should be taken down.
“I’m disappointed that some people choose to express their feelings in that kind of manner,” Trillo said. “It’s an unfortunate situation.”
The Flanders’ campaign said the display was “loaded with the baggage of a hateful history.”
Izzo told WJAR he would have hung Raimondo’s sign too if he could’ve gotten one.
The press conference at Fung’s campaign headquarters was his first of the campaign. He refused questions at his campaign kickoff and participated in a single debate on a small radio station last month.
Before the press conference began, Fung said he would not answer questions about anything other than the noose. After The Associated Press asked Fung for his response to the Trump administration slashing the number of refugees it will accept for a second straight year, Fung walked away.
Fung briefly answered a question about the Raimondo campaign at the end of the press conference. He explained how he’d cooperate with federal law enforcement officials on immigration if elected, before leaving as a reporter posed another question. Raimondo typically answers questions from reporters about various topics at her press conferences.
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