Cobb County

Case involving 2020 campaign sign leads to criminal charges

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A young woman has been charged after police said she vandalized a Cobb County man’s Donald Trump reelection sign.

George Bentley showed Channel 2's Matt Johnson how he took a lot of precautions to protect his property and the sign, including putting up a barbed wire fence.

“It's a free country, and we love America, and we're happy with the guy that's in there now,” Bentley said.

That’s why he says he placed a Trump 2020 sign on display along his property that overlooks North Marietta Parkway.

“We want him to be elected again in 2020, and we wanted to give our support for him,” Bentley said.

He told Johnson that he can't think of one good reason for anyone to trespass and vandalize his sign.

“It really irritates me. I believe people should be able to protest, but not on my property, you know?” Bentley said.

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Bentley’s security cameras captured a car driving through the barbed wire fence and then knocking over a bright-colored cube around 1 a.m. Monday.

The video then shows a woman standing in front of the camera to spray-paint the Trump sign.

Bentley and his girlfriend, Dee Corson, discovered what happened when they woke up later in the day.

“That’s pretty strong for it to bother you something like this,” Corson said.

They also made another discovery: a car left behind.

Video shows the woman struggled to get back through the fence, so she left the car there.

“If the car hadn’t been here with the tag on it, and we just had video of the person, it would have been really tough,” Bentley said.

The car led police to Azaria Moore, 20, who is charged with criminal trespass and failure to report a crash.

Bentley said he hopes the criminal charges will send a message.

“We're sorry you don’t like it. Go to your place and do your own display, but leave ours alone,” Bentley said.

Bentley estimates the damage to be thousands of dollars, including the fence that has to be repaired.

Johnson contacted Moore for comment about this story, but she didn’t want to say anything. She told Johnson that she could face five years in prison if convicted.