Sign confrontations, thefts, and threats: Campaign crime caught on camera

FRESNO, Calif. -- Stolen and vandalized signs are somewhat common in election seasons, but this time, we're seeing it on video.

Cynthia Downing says she couldn't keep her up at Herndon and Academy.

"This wasn't just a one-time thing," she said. "It was pretty much we put them out, they'd take them down."

Downing says she's always voted for Devin Nunes, but this year, she wanted to support Andrew Janz.

When her signs kept disappearing, the campaign put up a hidden camera and caught this man in a cowboy hat clipping away to remove one.

Downing had people replace the signs, but they reported several confrontations -- including one with a UPS driver.

We tracked down the driver and he told us the signs make a mess and he didn't want to see them out here in the country. He's also seen someone take down the signs before, so he thought the property owner didn't want them there.

UPS tells Action News they're investigating the confrontation.

Downing says another confrontation seemed even more serious.

"There was an individual that stopped with a pickup truck to confront somebody and threatened to burn the signs down if they were put back up which is a concern because our property is dry grass," Downing said.

A Fresno County sheriff's deputy took a report about the thefts and the threat.

It's only the second campaign-related crime report they've had since September, but we know vandals and thieves have sometimes targeted the Nunes campaign as well.

We asked them for a statement and his chief of staff sent this:

"When the [Tulare County] Sheriff's Department confirmed that Andrew Janz knowingly trespassed on Devin Nunes' family's property to shoot a commercial, somehow that wasn't a news story. But when a couple Janz campaign signs are removed, ABC30 rushes to the scene."

A spokesperson for the Tulare County Sheriff's Department tells us they did not confirm anyone trespassed on Nunes family property.

Devin's uncle, Gerald, reported trespassers on his rented property in August.

Sheriff's deputies investigated. They didn't arrest or cite anyone. And the spokesperson tells us they're not even sure if Andrew Janz was there.