Neighbors outraged over Tiverton sign about pipe bomb scares

October 30, 2018 1:23 am

TIVERTON, R.I. (WLNE) — A blunt message on a sign outside a business has a lot of people who drive by it outraged.

“This is such a beautiful stretch of road. You come by here and then you’re pulled up short by hatred,” said Pamela Lambert, who works in Newport.

On Saturday–the day the man accused of sending pipe bombs to prominent Democrats was arrested–a sign went up in front of Alan’s Upholstery and window tinting, saying: “NEXT TIME MAY NOT BE SO INCOMPETENT.” The owner, Alan Zielke, confirmed to ABC6 the sign did refer to that bomber.

“I’m a liberal Democrat, and it felt like a personal threat against me,” said Lisa McDermott of Portsmouth. “Not only is it un-American, in my opinion, it’s terrifying.

Zielke says his words were meant to be taken along with the message on the other side: “BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU DO AND SAY–CARMA [sic]–WHAT GOES AROUND COMES BACK AROUND.” Folks who live in the area say that context makes it even worse, and that both messages seem to endorse violence.

“I’m all for free speech, but when you cross the line into suggesting the people who disagree with your political views deserve whatever harm is coming to them, that’s a threat,” said McDermott.

Zielke took the sign down Sunday. Speaking to us on the phone Monday, he defended it, saying his message was that liberal rhetoric can be dangerous, and he doesn’t condone the pipe bomb attacks.

But Monday night, Zielke put an apology sign up, saying: “OOPS! SORRY I DIDN’t MEAN THAT SIGN THE WAY IT WAS TAKEN.”

We paid him a visit, but he didn’t want to speak on camera.

“It makes me fearful. It most definitely does,” said Lambert.

Even though the sign is now gone, Tiverton Police tell me they’re looking into all this.

“That’s inciting violence, if not threatening to do it outright yourself,” said Lambert. “This is hate rhetoric. Isn’t that illegal?”

On social media some people have come to Zielke’s defense, saying it’s free speech, and his right to express his views is just as American as other people’s right to speak out against them.

But amid the outcry over the sign, even Zielke admitted to us tonight “it was a mistake.”