A man in New York was charged with two counts of criminal possession of stolen property after allegedly taking campaign signs belonging to Anthony Constantino, a Republican running for Congress in New York’s 21st District, according to the Essex County Sheriff’s Office.
The source report identifies the man as Josef Marris and says the alleged theft was captured on video. It reports that Marris was driving a vehicle belonging to his employer, East Branch Organics, during the incident. Constantino’s campaign said Marris was fired from the company. The supplied material does not provide a date for the alleged theft, details about the signs’ value, or a response from Marris.
Constantino’s campaign alleged that Marris took the signs on behalf of Democratic candidate Blake Gendebien. Gendebien’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, according to the report. No evidence connecting Gendebien or his campaign to the alleged thefts is described in the supplied material, so the campaign’s allegation remains unsubstantiated there.
Constantino characterized the reported sign thefts and vandalism as an effort to intimidate his supporters. He told Fox News Digital that his campaign had lost more than $100,000 to sign theft and vandalism and criticized what he called a false equivalence in media coverage. Those statements are Constantino’s claims; the material does not independently document the reported financial losses or establish a motive for the alleged theft.
In a separate post on X, Constantino criticized Gendebien and said the Democratic candidate was surrounded by far-left extremists. The report also says Marris had described himself on social media as a communist and an Antifa supporter. It cites a post from April 2023 showing a three-arrow symbol associated historically with several socialist and anti-fascist movements.
The report cautions that the symbol by itself does not prove Marris belonged to Antifa, and does not establish any connection between Gendebien’s campaign and the alleged thefts. The characterization of Marris’s political affiliations is based on social media material reviewed by Fox News Digital, rather than a stated finding by law enforcement.
The case is unfolding in a closely watched contest to replace retiring Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican, in the 21st Congressional District. The report says Gendebien leads Constantino in the race but provides no polling figures or polling dates. It also notes that North Country Public Radio changed its rating of the district from “solid” Republican to “likely” Republican. The supplied information does not include the station’s explanation for that rating change.
