Joke's on them: vandals could face charges for Obama posters

Joke's on them: vandals could face charges for Obama posters

Posters depicting President Barack Obama as the Joker from the Batman movies have been glued on sign posts and traffic control boxes all over Clermont, Florida. The posters are part of an internet campaign launched by radio and Internet talk show host Alex Jones. Jones is encouraging people to put up the posters in public places in their hometowns, videotape themselves doing it, and then post that video on YouTube for a potential $1,000 reward for the best entry. The crude depiction of the president has upset many people, but Clermont police said at this point it is not considered a hate crime. Police do consider the posters a case of criminal mischief because the glue used to attach them has damaged property and have assigned some investigators to look into it. "I think it's childish," Clermont resident Ingrid Kjenslie said. "I think it's offensive." Resident Elissa Allison agreed. "He's our president of the United States," she said. "We should have respect whether we agree with him or not." Several of the posters were glued on a mailbox outside Clermont's downtown post office. Postmaster Willie Montgomery said defacing a post office is a federal offense and he is going to have the postal inspector look into it. "As far as I'm concerned this is vandalism and it shouldn't be tolerated," Montgomery said. "It's insensitive of people to deface postal service property or anybody else's property." A disclaimer on Alex Jones' website warns contest participants not to place the posters on federal or private property.