Residents of a Leesburg neighborhood are still buzzing after learning a homeowner had installed an alarm near a campaign sign that some feared was an explosive.
The sheriff’s office and fire marshal were called in on Saturday but determined the device was not dangerous and was placed on private property.
There is a series of trip wires and on the trees, something called perimeter alarms containing blank charges. There are also cameras.
An attorney for the homeowner tells News4 the equipment was installed recently after the anti-Kamala Harris sign was vandalized.
On Saturday, a family who lives in the Woodlea Manor subdivision called the Loudoun Sheriff’s office after their children began exploring the fishing line trip wires and found the devices. The family worried the devices might be explosive. The fire marshal responded, too.
The sheriff’s office spokesman wrote to News4, “The first marshal determined what was attached to a tree was a legal device intended to be loud if the nearby sign was disturbed.”
The sheriff’s office recommended that the homeowner put up no trespassing signs since it’s not clear the sign is on private property.
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But when the family also contacted the Woodlea Manor conservancy HOA, Board member Charlie King went to investigate himself. He says politics had nothing to do with it.
“Nothing would have happened if there wasn’t a booby trap,” King said. “That's the difference. I don’t care about the sign. I care about the booby trap.”
King says he and the homeowner had a contentious conversation. King then posted about the sign and the devices on the HOA Facebook page.
“My thought was the parents ought to tell the kids to keep the kids out of the area until the sign goes down,” he said.
Neighbors are now weighing in on the Woodlea Facebook group with some thanking King for the warning and others saying he was out of line.
“My issue is really how it's been handled,” said a woman who asked News4 to not identify her because of possible repercussions at work. “I think it’s more politically-driven than safety-driven.”
The attorney for the homeowner tells News4 the alarms are meant to alert him to anyone tampering with the sign and added, “It’s just an alarm, not an incendiary device. If you don't like the candidate, you can vote for someone else.”
The homeowner has now added no trespassing signs as the sheriff’s office advised.
Both Charlie King and the family of the children who discovered the alarms have been issued no trespass orders from the sheriff’s office.
