Left: Printing business Sticker Mule erected a “Vote for Trump” sign atop its building in Amsterdam, New York (Sticker Mule/Instagram). Right: The business had to cover the sign after the city obtained a court order, which was ultimately lifted (WRGB).
A business owner in upstate New York who also is an ardent supporter of former president and current candidate Donald Trump earned a win this week when a judge lifted an order that prevented him from lighting a massive “Vote for Trump” sign high atop the factory that houses his business.
The city of Amsterdam, which is about 35 miles northwest of Albany, on Friday obtained a restraining order against a printing company called Sticker Mule from lighting up the 100-foot wide sign with 12-foot high letters on the roof of the old factory building, which is several stories high. City officials argued in a lawsuit that the sign posed a safety hazard as it might distract drivers or ensnarl traffic with people taking pictures. The officials also said the sign was a code violation as signs must be associated with the accompanying business.
But Monday evening — about 90 minutes before an official lighting ceremony — the judge lifted the order, the Daily Gazette reported. More than a thousand MAGA-clad supporters descended on the warehouse to see the sign light up, Albany NBC affiliate WNYT reported. Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino, who also started a political action committee on behalf of the former president, declared the event a success.
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“Thank you everyone for coming to the historic ‘Vote for Trump’ sign lighting and watching live all over the world. It was so great to see everyone so happy. Unity!” Constantino wrote on Instagram.
Sticker Mule is a custom printing company that produces stickers, labels, packaging and T-shirts, and employs about 1,000 people. It’s housed in the former Fownes Brothers glove-making warehouse that shuttered in 2010. Sticker Mule bought the building in 2019, per the Gazette. The iconic “Fownes” sign dominated the city’s skyline for decades. But over the summer Constantino took down the sign and replaced it with a massive sign reading “Vote for Trump.”
Amsterdam Mayor Michael Cinquanti, a Democrat, said Constantino’s PAC came to the city in August about the sign, and the city warned that it would violate code. Constantino erected the sign anyway.
After the judge’s initial restraining order, Constantino sent the following statement to local media outlets:
I made a beautiful sign, designed by local artists, to bring much needed enthusiasm to Upstate, NY which is what we need to re-ignite economic growth. The sign symbolizes the return of manufacturing to America and elevates the skyline of our hometown. Whether you’re Democrat or Republican, it’s a tourist attraction that will bring economic activity to Amsterdam, NY making it a big win for everyone. Only highly partisan and short-sighted politicians would take issue with it.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Constantino called his triumph an “epic win for free speech.” He also suggested that he may keep the sign up past Election Day.
“I think the sign is going to become a historic sign, sort of a landmark in a way because it signifies a fight for free speech,” he said.
A court date for the city’s lawsuit is scheduled for later this month.
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