HOLDEN, Maine — A student canvasser for the Maine Democratic Party, attending the University of Maine, was charged with misdemeanor theft for allegedly stealing a Trump flag from a Holden residence on Sunday.
According to Holden Police Chief Chris Greeley, 20-year-old Samuel Knabel was charged Sunday after he had allegedly stolen a Trump flag from a residence in Holden.
Chief Greeley said that after Knabel stole the sign, the flag's owner followed him down Eaton Ridge Drive in Holden. The chief said there was an altercation between the two men and the flag owner allegedly punched Knabel in the head.
Knabel was not arrested.
Maine Democratic Party spokesperson Seth Nelson says they don’t condone this type of behavior and “we have ended our affiliation with the person in question.”
Maine police have seen an uptick in stolen and defaced political signs this election season. Last month, a man was caught on home surveillance video ripping signs out of a yard in North Yarmouth, and the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office has received a number of calls for theft and vandalism over the last couple of months.
"To be out there and destroying the property and the speech of people you disagree with is as un-American as it gets," Jason Savage, executive director of the Maine GOP, previously told NEWS CENTER Maine.
This story will be updated.