RCMP investigate 'disturbing' vandalism of NDP candidate's sign

WARNING: This story contains graphic details and a graphic image

As a veteran of six election campaigns at both the provincial and federal levels, B.C. NDP candidate Nathan Cullen is used to the rough and tumble of politics.

But none of that prepared the Bulkley Valley-Stikine incumbent Tuesday for the sight of himself with a noose around his neck hanging from a makeshift gallows on the side of a highway.

Cullen says he didn't want to look — but then realized he had to.

"I'll be honest, I wasn't really interested in looking at it too much, but then I was more thinking about my kids," he told CBC News.

"I needed to look at it so that we could talk about it as a family. They go to school here in town and once something gets on social media ... once an image is out, it's out, and I just knew there was a decent chance they'd be seeing it."

'It's incredibly disturbing'

According to Cullen, the RCMP are now investigating the incident — which appears to have involved someone cutting the candidate's head and body out of a campaign sign and hanging it from a gallows crudely fashioned out of wood.

A volunteer with the politician's campaign spotted the defaced sign outside Smithers on their drive home along Highway 16, contacted Cullen and took it down. Cullen provided CBC News with a photograph of the sign.

The campaign also notified Elections B.C.

"It's incredibly disturbing, actually. Someone put a lot of effort and energy into what is an awful depiction," Cullen said.

"Regardless of the fact that they cut me out of one of our billboards and depicted me hanging from a noose, it's having an awful effect on people. It's quite triggering for some and just is not reflective, I believe, of the north and the different opinions we can respectfully hold."

The incident follows weeks of complaints about theft and vandalism of campaign signs in the riding.

Last week, Smithers RCMP announced an investigation into reports of the removal and damage of election signs throughout the area.

"With the upcoming elections, candidates, who have lawfully placed signs on private or public property, have been getting signs removed or damaged," police said in a statement.

"It is a Criminal Code offence should someone unlawfully remove or damage an election sign."

In an email to CBC News, an RCMP spokesperson would not comment on specific reports of vandalism, but said it's a Criminal Code offence as either mischief or theft to damage or remove a campaign sign that has been lawfully placed.

'This is not OK'

Cullen said his campaign has been particularly hard hit with hundreds of signs disappearing from the lawns and properties of supporters.

The problem prompted a concerned Facebook post from B.C. Conservative opponent Sharon Hartwell.

"There has been some vandalism done to the opposition's signs. This is not OK. This is not what we want to see in our communities," Hartwell said in the video.

"It's highly illegal. So if you want to have a debate, if you want to have questions answered, we're there to knock on your door, we're there to support you. We're there to hear what your concerns are, but seeing this devastation throughout the riding on opposition signs is not OK with us."

Reports of the latest incident struck home with Chris Sankey, the B.C. Conservative candidate in the nearby riding of North Coast Haida-Gwaii.

A member of the Tsimshian community who has served as an elected councillor for the Lax Kw'alaams Band, Sankey said he has been the subject of constant attacks on social media during his run in provincial politics. 

"I got death threats," he said.

"Like Cullen, how do I explain that to my kids? I've never seen it that bad. This is the worst I've seen politics on any scale."

'Politicians have to take it very seriously'

Chris Tenove, assistant director of the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions at the University of British Columbia, said the attacks come as Canadian politicians have reported increasing concerns about violence.

Last month, a Richmond, B.C., man was handed two months of house arrest after pleading guilty to posting a Facebook video of himself threatening the life of Richmond Centre's member of Parliament.

 "It can be hard to determine what the intent is for someone. What for someone might be a dark joke, for another person might be a deliberate attempt to intimidate," Tenove told CBC News.

"Politicians have to take it very seriously ... there's also risks that people will either drop out of politics, or a more likely outcome is that some people will assume that politics isn't for them."

Cullen said the attacks and vandalism his campaign is experiencing are worse than anything he's been through in previous runs for office. He blames social media discourse and the polarized seep of vitriolic politics from south of the border.

"We just have to collectively be careful and lift people up who we admire and hope for the best that they'll do good work on our behalf, because that's how this system works. And if we're tearing people down, if we're dehumanizing and making people enemies, who's going to want to run for office?" he said.

"You're going to be pulling from a very small list of people in our world who enjoy that kind of thing."