Wife of state representative candidate stole 240 signs to repurpose, Minnesota cops say
A string of sign thefts plagued a small Minnesota city as hundreds of signs vanished in less than a month, leaving small craft fair organizers and campaign supporters wondering who took their signs.
Reports flooded into the Alexandria Police Department, and video footage pointed to one person — the wife of a candidate running for the area’s state representative seat, police said.
Judd Hoff, the candidate, and his wife, Wendy Hoff, were arrested on Aug. 10 after a search warrant revealed piles of stolen signs in the couple’s backyard and garage, a criminal complaint said.
Officers counted 242 signs, worth approximately $5,000 in total, according to charging documents. Many had been repurposed for Hoff’s campaign, police said.
“Many of the signs seized were covered with black paint, obstructing the names and images of the original sign,” according to court documents. “A number of these painted signs displayed ‘Vote Hoff, State Representative 12B.’”
Judd Hoff, 53, is vying for the Minnesota state representative seat in legislative District 12B, running against the incumbent Republican Rep. Mary Franson.
Hoff was arrested on charges of aiding and abetting felony theft and receiving stolen property, and his wife, Wendy, was arrested on a charge of felony theft, according to court documents. If convicted, they can face up to five years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.
The Hoffs’ attorney could not be reached for comment.
Signs started disappearing around July 10, according to court documents. Real estate signs, advertisements for a small craft fair and garage sale signs were picked up. Wendy Hoff was a person of interest on July 11, according to court documents.
Douglas County deputies spoke on July 10 with Wendy Hoff, who denied taking the signs, according to court documents. However, she expressed frustration about one of her husband’s signs being taken by law enforcement or being in the “public right-of-way,” according to court documents.
“If I put a sign within 12 feet of this property, by law, you as a person could come by and take that piece of property because it’s in the right-of-way,” she told deputies. “You can’t put even a, technically, a garage sale sign, a realtor sign, okay?”
Wendy Hoff continued to pick up dozens more signs throughout Alexandria, according to court documents. She grabbed signs that supported presidential candidate Donald Trump, among other political signs, the probable cause statement said.
Earlier this year, Judd Hoff was endorsed by the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, but that endorsement was disavowed in April, according to a statement from party Chairman Ken Martin.
Hoff, wielding a machete, confronted a man flying an upside-down American flag out of the back of a truck in 2020, according to court documents. In 2021, Hoff was convicted of second-degree assault.
“The kind of violent and threatening behaviors that Mr. Hoff has engaged in have no place in the Minnesota DFL party,” Martin said in an April 15 news release. “The Minnesota DFL strongly disavows this endorsement, and I have asked the local unit in question to withdraw their endorsement immediately.”
The couple were arrested on Aug. 10. As of Aug. 11, Judd and Wendy Hoff were in custody at Douglas County Jail, per the inmate roster.
Police say they are working to return the stolen signs to their owners, according to an Aug. 8 news release.
Alexandria is about a 140-mile drive northwest of Minneapolis.
This story was originally published August 12, 2024 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Wife of state representative candidate stole 240 signs to repurpose, Minnesota cops say."
