A campaign-sign dispute in Columbus, Georgia, took an unusual turn after an independent candidate placed Apple AirTags inside replacement signs and used the tracking devices to locate four missing signs, as reported by The Gateway Pundit.
Stephen Acorn, an independent write-in candidate challenging longtime Democratic incumbent Debbie Buckner for Georgia House District 137, said several of his campaign signs had repeatedly disappeared near Matthews Elementary School and County Line Road.
After the signs continued to go missing, Acorn decided to put tracking devices inside new signs to determine where they were going.
“I feel like I outsmarted the perpetrator,” Acorn told NowGeorgia.com, which first reported the incident.
The plan produced results within roughly 24 hours. Acorn received an alert indicating that two of the tracked signs were moving.
The location information eventually directed him and police to the residence of Richard Spencer Garrard and his wife, Rev. Dr. Cindy Cox Garrard.
Richard Garrard is a retired Columbus State University educator. According to the university’s faculty catalog, he previously served as a lecturer in middle-grades education.
Columbus State’s archives also contain an oral-history interview concerning his years as both a student and faculty member at the university.
Police went to the Garrards’ home after the tracking information identified the location of the campaign signs. According to Acorn’s account, Richard Garrard answered the door when officers arrived.
Acorn said the responding officer told Garrard that police knew the missing signs were at the residence and that they needed to be returned. Otherwise, Acorn could pursue charges.
Four of Acorn’s campaign signs were subsequently recovered from the garbage at the home and returned to him.
The incident later received renewed attention after Libs of TikTok shared footage from the encounter on X on Sept. 7. The footage included police body-camera video from the response at the residence.
Cindy Garrard subsequently said she was responsible for removing the signs but disputed the characterization that she had taken signs from private property.
In a statement provided to NowGeorgia.com, Garrard said she believed the signs had been placed illegally along a public right-of-way.
“I thought the signs were illegally placed on public right-of-way and removed them. The signs have been returned.”
Garrard also maintained that her husband was not responsible for removing the signs. After Acorn posted a photograph of the couple on Facebook and referred to them as “sign snatchers,” Garrard responded directly.
“They” is me, not my husband. I never removed a sign from private property.”
The political nature of the dispute became another point of discussion when Acorn shared election records indicating that Cindy Cox Garrard had made a financial contribution to Buckner’s campaign.
Acorn had given the couple several hours to apologize and said he would keep their identities private. After receiving no response, he posted their photograph publicly.
Acorn has not indicated that he has decided to pursue criminal charges. When asked about that possibility, he gave a religious explanation for his decision-making.
“God shows us grace every single day, and he commands us to do the same. It’s something I’m going to pray about.”
Acorn did, however, submit an open-records request seeking a copy of the responding officer’s body-camera footage.
The incident also raises questions about the legal status of campaign signs in Georgia.
Reporting on the incident states that taking campaign signs without permission can constitute theft and that the offense can carry a penalty of up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
For Acorn, the disappearance of campaign signs that had initially appeared to be an unresolved nuisance ultimately produced a specific location after he concealed tracking devices inside replacement signs.
Police recovered the signs from the Columbus residence, while the couple involved offered an explanation that differed from Acorn’s characterization of what happened.
The matter now remains a local campaign controversy involving competing accounts over why the signs were removed, whether they were improperly placed, and whether any criminal charges will ultimately be pursued.
