The man who dumped a load of manure in front of the Warren County Democratic Party headquarters in Lebanon, Ohio, over the weekend has confessed to his crime and explained his reasons for leaving the huge pile in the parking lot.
“It was the world’s cheapest advertising,” James Pinell, 47, told WLWT.
The Lebanon man, who is paid to deliver horse manure, said he dumped about six yards of manure at the Democratic headquarters over the weekend to get the attention of politicians.
“We’re sick of politics. We’re sick of Washington, and you know, it’s a bunch of horse crap they’re putting us through,” he said. “So I just, more or less, did what I felt.”
Pinell, who said he’s a Republican who plans to vote for Trump, gave some specifics: “There’s every bit of reason as the pile itself. It’s all of it. It’s the emails. It’s NAFTA. It’s, you know, Obamacare’s going to, look what it’s done to the premiums in the second year,” Pinell said.
Warren County Republican Chairman Jeff Monroe said he doesn’t know Pinell and he doesn’t represent Republicans. Monroe added that he’s glad Pinell was caught and cited.
Pinell also admitted that he dumped a load of manure at the headquarters in 2012.
Police said they tracked the dump truck used to deliver the manure to Pinell’s property.
“Unfortunately for him, what he chose to do is a criminal act. So we had to handle it as such, which we did. That’s why he was charged the way he was,” said Lt. John Faine, with the Warren County Sheriff’s Office. He was charged with criminal mischief and could face up to 60 days in jail, a $500 fine, and restitution if convicted.
Pinell told WLWT that he’s been receiving nasty answering machine messages since the incident.
Bethe Goldenfield, chairwoman of the Warren County Democratic Party, told WLWT she was relieved that the culprit had been caught. “I was glad to see this come to closure because we’re definitely focused on moving on,” she said.
Democratic Party leaders paid to have someone remove the manure Saturday morning.
Goldenfield noted that the headquarters has been receiving calls from people offering to pay Pinell’s fines.
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