Pirozzolo – who was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the same design – said Trump’s call came while he and conservative Staten Island artist Scott LoBaido were waiting to do a TV interview.
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In the middle of the night on Sunday in Staten Island, New York, a Donald Trump supporter’s lawn display went up in flames. I saw what happened all over the news.
The fire department responded to the location at 1:16 a.m. for the blazing 12 foot “T” at the intersection of Manor Road and Sturges Street, outside Pirozzolo’s home. “He was just so honored that we had done this”.
LoBaido, the artist, has already begun work on a new T that will stand taller than the one that was set on fire.
The “T” for Trump has been on the Staten Island lawn since May.
While there is no evidence as to whether the “T” was set on fire by a prankster or was politically motivated, Pirozzolo said he believes otherwise. The homeowner, Sam Pirozzolo, said his neighbors knocked on his door to alert him that the 12-by-8-foot foam sign was ablaze. “This is America, I have the right for my free speech. I hope you and your family are safe”, Pirozzolo said Trump added.
“How could that not be a hate crime?”
A Donald Trump fan who built a giant “T” in his front yard in support of the Republican nominee says the people who set fire to it overnight should be charged with a hate crime.
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Fire marshals told Pirozzolo that they smelled gasoline on the T as they extinguished the blaze, and the NYPD is looking into the possibility of arson. “I’m a provocateur, and that’s what art is supposed to do – to provoke emotion”.
