Pennsylvania

The Bucks County Democratic Committee is asking a court to authorize the removal of campaign signs in the Central Bucks School District that call Democrats “groomers” and accuse “radical” Democratic candidates of bringing “chaos” to the district.

The signs are “defamatory,” according to the Democrats’ chair, State Sen. Steve Santarsiero — but that’s not the reason the party filed an emergency motion Wednesday in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas seeking an injunction.

The issue: “They all violate state law,” Santarsiero said. Some particularly large signs — stating one Democratic candidate “supports defund the police & Marxist BLM,” and another “supports sexually graphic books for minors” and “won’t protect girls’ sports/safe spaces!” — don’t include any language about who authorized or paid for them.

Pennsylvania law requires that any advertisement that “expressly advocates the election or defeat of a candidate” must contain a disclaimer that clearly states who paid for it.

Meanwhile, other signs put up in the district — including one that reads “Hey Democrats! Groom dogs not kids! Schools teach academics not porn” — have small stickers saying “PAID FOR BY: LetsGoBrandon.com.”

The site for “Let’s Go Brandon” — a slogan for a profane phrase aimed at President Joe Biden — advertises a cryptocurrency it calls “America’s Free Speech Coin.”

The sticker is “obviously not a legitimate disclaimer,” Santarsiero said. (In an email, the Miami hedge fund manager associated with the meme coin, James Koutoulas, said a reporter’s question was “first I’ve heard” of the Central Bucks signs, adding that “the letsgobrandon.com foundation didn’t pay for them but they sound funny and on brand.”)