Accused Sign Stealer Says Issue "Has Gotten Out of Hand"

As of Sunday, May 6, 2012

A woman charged with stealing political signs says she doesn’t view her actions as wrong.

Heidi Smith Thompson, 44, of West End, was charged earlier this week with the larceny of political signs and contributing to the delinquency of a minor after a witness saw her take an anti-Amendment One sign.

“I completely believe it was the right thing to do,” Thompson said. “Breaking the law, if you do it for God, makes it right.”

She said she knows others won’t agree.

(A letter from Thompson appears on Page B2 of Sunday's print edition of The Pilot.)

“We stand for what we believe in,” she said. “We are a strong faith family, whether you see it as stealing, or however society sees it, I see it as standing for what I believe in, God.”

Thompson said she also thinks the matter, has “gotten way out of hand,” and has “gone too far,” and that she is being persecuted for her actions.

She said she fears for the safety of her family after she has received derogatory phone calls and hate emails in recent days.

One email called her “disgusting” and told her to “Go TO HELL!”

“I had to sleep last night with my gun beside my bed,” she said. “That’s how scared I was for my family.”

Police charged Thompson earlier this week after a witness observed Thompson and her 11-year-old daughter taking anti-Amendment One political signs from the intersection of Morganton Road and N.C. 5 about 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 18.

Signs are stolen every political season, but this is the first time anyone in Pinehurst has been charged for doing so, Pinehurst police said this week.

Thompson said at the time she and her daughter decided to take the signs as a retaliatory measure for stolen pro-Amendment One signs.

“My daughter said, ‘Hey, momma, let’s pick those signs up. They’ve been taking ours down,’ So we picked them up.”

She said she wasn’t surprised when police contacted her about the incident.

“I saw the guy following me,” she said. “I knew he was following me because he saw me take the sign up.”

Police said Thomson admitted to taking three signs and has returned them.

Thompson said at the time she took the signs she didn’t see it as violating anyone’s free speech rights guaranteed under the First Amendment.

“At the time I didn’t see it that way,” she said. “I just saw it as they are taking my signs up, I’ll take their signs up.”

She said a discussion with a pastor friend has helped her better understand the issue.

Stealing, vandalizing, defacing or unlawfully removing a lawfully placed political sign in North Carolina is a Class 3 misdemeanor. The maximum punishment is 20 days in jail. Fines for Class 3 misdemeanor convictions can be as high as $200.

The Amendment One measure on the May 8 primary ballot would change the North Carolina Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman only and declares it as the only valid union in North Carolina.

Thompson is adamant about her beliefs that marriage is “one man and one woman” and “anyone on the other side is wrong.”

“I know I am going to suffer persecution over this,” she said. “There are people out there that hate me and probably wanted me dead because I picked up a sign from the side of the road, which I think is ridiculous.”

More like this story

imavoter 1 year ago

Now she says it's her daughters idea. Way to go. Blame the child.

doughnuts 1 year ago

Ingsoc

CC85 1 year ago

“Breaking the law, if you do it for God, makes it right.”

What a twisted sense of morals. This sounds just like Al Qaeda.

katimae 1 year ago

Wow-this is a woman in need of a hug. Yes she was wrong to break the law. The courts will determine her punishment. It's not her place to be the sole representative of such anger and derision. From anyone. People just leave her be. Let her life and her families' lives return to normal. Please lets put our focus back on the election. Maybe The Pilot can sponsor a debate-town-park-green-style. Let citizens express themselves so we can hope to come to better understanding. Allow the expression to take the form of reasoned but heartfelt opinion. Pop the cap and let some fizz out so to speak. Saves the bottle from overflowing. People just talk to each other. Your neighbors are going to decide this. Want to know how they feel? Just ask them. And then make your decision.

truthmatterstome2 1 year ago

Let me get this straight. God said: "Thou shall not steal." What exactly am I missing? God tells you to not steal. You steal. So it's OK with God that you broke a commandment that he gave? A little twisted, I think. No. A lot twisted!

SH59 1 year ago

Both sides have their excuses for their behavior. Maybe if we all respected each others opinions and allowed public debate without judgment and name calling then we might have a more civilized society.

mvbs 1 year ago

If she wanted it to go away and have people leave her alone then why is she doing interviews. Guess she is wanting another 15 minutes.

imavoter 1 year ago

Exactly.

hsthompson2 1 year ago

Thanks Tom for putting my comments in the paper. I knew people wouldnt understand but if they know anything about the Bible. Daniel and the Lions den he was thrown in the den with lions for breaking the law but we know the outcome of the story. God is in control to him be the Glory. I have also asked for an article to be put in the options section of the pilot which should appear in Sundays paper. Heidi Thompson Romans 8:28

visigrad 1 year ago

I just wish everyone would take the planks out of their eyes.....unfortunately too many have rejected God's word.

clarabelle 1 year ago

"Daniel and the Lions den he was thrown in the den with lions for breaking the law but we know the outcome of the story. "

And she equates this to what she did...........me laughing so hard i wet my undies!

what a tool she is!

Easygoing 1 year ago

Think about it, this is the type of thinking that put this amendment on the ballot in the first place. Is this the type of thinking we want to vote yes to?

mvbs 1 year ago

I will say it again kinda funny she wants people to leave her alone and she comes on here and starts talking again.

healthcare_2011 1 year ago

“I had to sleep last night with my gun beside my bed,” she said. “That’s how scared I was for my family.” REALLY?!? I seriously DOUBT that!!

Thatcher 1 year ago

Stealing is wrong. Period. And the court system will resolve this case, not any one of us. To me, there are many on here who seem to take delight in the misfortunes of others. How many of us would like to be judged by the worst day of our life? How about you? I know I would not. "He who is without sin cast the first stone." Some of the stones of today seem to be caustic, mocking posts on the Pilot. As for me, I have no disparaging comments towards Ms. Thompson, or anyone else here.

healthcare_2011 1 year ago

It's called freedom of speech. We can say (post) what we want to.

DaveyNC 1 year ago

Amazingly, this woman has made herself the victim in this, likening herself to Christ. She expects to be persecuted for her own actions.

No, sweetie, it's not PERsecution, it's PROsecution. It's what happens to people when they get caught breaking the law.

And then she blames it on the kid and engages in this juvenile tit-for-tat response, assuming that the same people who put the signs up are the same ones who took hers down.

I'm voting against Amendment One almost for no other reason than to p--- people like this off.

nothingspecial 1 year ago

Mrs. Thompson, this will blow over and things will go on but please don't compare yourself with Daniel. You did a foolish thing, that gives no credit to the cause.

But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 1 Peter 2:20

Thatcher 1 year ago

healthcare_2011-- You are absolutely correct about freedom of speech. Fire away. Well-timed zingers are always the best at making someone else feel terrible. Throw in some of those. After all, isn't making others feel terrible and kicking them while they're down what freedom of speech is all about?

CNMT 1 year ago

I have to agree with CC85 - Al Qaeda professes be following Allah when they act. This woman is claiming to be following God's will by stealing those signs. I can't say that I follow her logic there. Sorry.

fugitiveguy 1 year ago

Al Quaeda. Yes pulling up a sign and beheading someone are nearly one and the same.

moonchild7 1 year ago

This woman has the same mental "incapacity" as the TALIBAN in Afghanistan. It's their "motto" also to be doing this type of thing because she (just like them) believes that "God is on her side". She thinks the rest of us are sinful degenerates. Sorry Heidi, you want a "BIBLE-CONTROLLED" America? That's DANGEROUS and UNLAWFUL. According to our Constitution. Free speech means ALL SPEECH, not only what you just want to hear or believe. The Taliban started their "Takeover" just by doing stuff like this. You do KNOW that don't you? We've gone to WAR and many of our young men and women have DIED because of it. And you're teaching your daughter this kind of mental disfunction? What a shame.

theonewithsense 1 year ago

I know God says homosexuals surely shall die, but I wasn't aware that God said to steal signs to make sure homosexuals couldn't marry.

Accused Sign Stealer Says Issue "Has Gotten Out of Hand"

More like this story

Comments

May events