'Trump Road-Tilla' brought supporters, troublemakers

Saturday's "Trump Road-Tilla," hosted by the Hancock County Republican Party, attracted hundreds of the president's supporters, and a few troublemakers. According to the Findlay Police Department, there were two calls — one was a complaint about the event and one was a call for help — after two men identifying themselves as "Sons of Trump" began harassing volunteers at the Hancock County Democratic Party booth, set up outside the Hancock County Courthouse. Road-tilla participants were also accused of using black spray paint to deface large Biden/Harris signs along South Main Street. According to the Hancock County GOP, the event drew over 225 vehicles to the city, including cars, motorcycles, tractors, busses and floats. Heather Pendleton, executive chairwoman of the Hancock County GOP, said Saturday's event started with a prayer, and participants were asked to be respectful of the community and the rules of the road as the caravan covered the 20-mile route. She said event participants also endured their share of harassment, including name-calling and hand gestures "from people who clearly didn't support us." She also said a man, carrying a Biden sign, attempted to block the caravan's progress by walking back and forth in a mid-block crosswalk in Findlay's downtown. While Pendleton said the Republican Party does not condone the bad behavior, controlling it — with such a large crowd — is difficult. "In the end, all you can do is put together an event you can be proud of and hope that the people who attend will be considerate of others who might have differing opinions," she said. "You can advocate for your own candidate without tearing the other's candidate down. ... We don't want to punish our supporters who don't act that way by canceling our events." Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn said Saturday's "road-tilla" was issued a permit by the city to use the parking lot of The Cube, 3430 N. Main St., to stage vehicles. Since it technically wasn't a parade — with people expected to drive the route, not walk it — there was no parade permit. However, Muryn said people did walk the route, which is also a concern with the state's rules regarding COVID-19 and mass gatherings. Both parties have already been asking supporters to stop vandalizing and stealing political signs. While there is no law in Ohio that specifically protects political signs, charges of trespassing could be raised. Trouble with the political signs started weeks ago in Findlay. Just last week, the city announced that signs posted in the public right-of-way have become a nuisance and will be removed by the street department. Muryn said a large number of the signs were being placed in the right-of-way, which is typically a tree lawn, between the sidewalk and the street. Findlay's zoning code governs both the size and placement of political signs. Residents may have an unlimited number of signs, but they can be no larger than 32 square feet, with a maximum height of 8 feet. Signs must be placed on private property and are not permitted in public rights-of-way, such as tree lawns or near street intersections. They also cannot be posted on utility poles, fences, trees or any public or private sign structure. Residents may retrieve yard signs removed by city crews at the Parker Building, 224 W. Crawford St. The signs can be found at the southwest corner of the building, next to the sandbags. As for crowds at large political events, Muryn agreed that it is difficult to control. She said working to identify who is causing the trouble is part of the answer. So is "encouraging folks to be wise," she said. "There's very little you can do to change a person's political opinions, so be respectful that others have their own opinions," she said.