House with ‘Dump Trump’ sign gets shot up in Ohio as election tensions soar

Officials launch investigation into shooting after homeowner says alleged suspects stole anti-Trump signs and shot through a window

Police in Ohio have launched an investigation after a local resident said their house had been shot up when assailants stole a sign reading “Dump Trump” early Wednesday morning.

The Summit County Sheriff’s Office said a home faced significant damage, including broken siding and cracked windows, and shotgun shell casings were recovered at the scene.

A resident who lived in the house that came under fire said the alleged suspects grabbed his anti-Trump sign and shot at it, along with another sign posted in the window of the house. No one was injured, according to reports.

The apparent conflict reflected a soaring of tensions nationwide in the midst of an unprecedented election in modern American history, with ballots in key states still being counted days after Election Day due to a surge in mail-in voting associated with the coronavirus pandemic.

Officials have long said the ballots would take several days to be counted, particularly in several Republican-led states which had not passed laws in recent months allowing for mail-in votes to be processed prior to Election Day.

There were at least two suspects involved in the shooting, the homeowner told police, who allegedly stuffed the mailbox of the house with pro-Trump pamphlets.

Mr Trump won the state of Ohio with more than 53 percent of the vote, according to the Associated Press.

Despite the election remaining underway, Mr Trump delivered a speech on Election Day falsely insisting he had already won, before tweeting out calls for the vote to stop being counted in states where Mr Biden appeared to be closing in on his lead.

The Trump campaign has since vowed to file a wave of lawsuits in key battlegrounds across the country, though analysts have said the vote count has been legally conducted and noted how some of the president’s disputes have already been debunked.