Mayoral candidate's sign set on fire, Kingsland PD investigating

Kingsland City Councilman and mayoral hopeful Jim McClain spoke to Action News Jax after he says someone tried to burn down his campaign billboard early Saturday morning.

“I was disturbed that this would happen in Kingsland, Georgia,” said McClain.

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McClain tells Action News Jax a passerby called for help after he noticed the sign on fire early Saturday.

“It’s a sad day in Kingsland when we’ve got to, or somebody is influenced to feel like they’ve got to commit arson, or to destroy private property to influence a political race,” said McClain.

The sign is scorched in three places. McClain believes someone was trying to set the entire billboard on fire, but was not able to because of the sign’s material.

“I’m not dissuaded just because of this event. I’m actually energized over it,” said McClain.

He’s running against incumbent Kenneth Smith, Grayson Day and James Ham. Action News Jax reached out to all three of his opponents for comment.

Smith and Day say they’re disturbed by the incident and hope investigators can find those responsible. We’re still awaiting a response from Ham.

McClain says Kingsland police is investigating the incident as an arson case. Action News Jax called Kingsland police for a copy of the incident report, but we were told we would have to call back during the work week for records requests.

He says he’s not sure who may have done this, and he’s not going to make any assumptions. Arson is a felony in the state of Georgia.

“This individual must have felt like that he could influence my ability for political speech,” said McClain.

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He says he will not be intimidated, and he’s speaking out to ensure free speech.

“Free speech is alive and well for everybody not just me in Kingsland, Georgia,” said McClain.

The sign sustained $1,500 in structural and material damage. He doesn’t plan on fixing  the sign, but instead will leave it as a message of the importance of protecting free speech.

Cox Media Group