Long Island ice cream shop removes pro-Trump sign after tussle with town

An ice cream shop in Port Jefferson, N.Y., has removed a pro-Trump banner after initially refusing to back down from a standoff with town officials.

The store, Roger’s Frigate, was ordered by town officials to take down the 3 feet-by-20 feet sign, which read “In Trump, We Trust,” after the mayor said it violated a local code because of its “size and substance,” according to News 12 Long Island.

“It’s not necessarily what the sign says. It’s basically the size and substance of the banner itself. It’s an illegal sign,” Village Mayor Margot Garant told the local station on Wednesday.

Garant is a registered Republican, but the mayoral post is considered a nonpartisan position, according to The Washington Post.

But on Friday, village clerk Barbara Sakovich said the banner has been removed.

“The store agreed to take down the sign today,” Sakovich told The Hill.

Roger Rutherford, the store’s general manager, confirmed the sign had been taken down, but declined to comment further.

Rutherford previously told The Washington Post that the town’s order infringed on free speech.

“We are being specifically targeted for supporting our president when we’re only trying to express our love of country,” Rutherford told the Post.

The store would have reportedly faced fines of up to $2,000 a day if it did not take down the banner.

My contribution to @washingtonpost‘s impeachment coverage is about an ice cream shop on Long Island and the fight over a very large banner: https://t.co/Eb9yPSpngV

— Teo Armus (@teoarmus) January 31, 2020

The store and town officials have had previous scuffles over Trump signs, but the store took down them down in those instances as well.