Levittown Man Close To Congressman Charged With Stealing GOP Opponent’s Sign

A Middletown Township man who often accompanies Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick has been charged with stealing an election sign belonging to the incumbent’s primary GOP challenger.

The charges come after a video of a confrontation over the sign showed up on social media and was promoted by Alex Entin, Fitzpatrick’s primary challenger, in recent weeks.

According to Lower Makefield police, they were called on April 15 by Entin for a report of a political sign in the township. The value of the sign was reported to be $5 to $6 dollars.

A campaign volunteer for Entin told an investigator she was driving in Lower Makefield Township when she spotted a white Dodge pickup truck pulled up along Stony Hill Road near Newtown-Yardley Road. She spotted a man taking one of Entin’s sign and leaving other nearby signs.

The man – later identified as David Sommers, 67, of Middletown Township’s Levittown section – was confronted by the woman while he still had the sign in hand. He traded words with the woman and drove his truck away, police said.

The video posted by the Entin campaign shows Sommers stating he was taking the sign because it was on private property and was “illegal.”

“I don’t understand,” the woman recording states.

The woman asked Sommers for the sign back, but he said he would turn it in.

In court papers filed with District Judge Corryn Kronnagel, Sommers was charged with theft and receiving stolen property. The charges were filed via summons.

Sommers worked for Fitzpatrick’s campaign in 2016 and is a regular volunteer with Republican campaigns.

Over the years, Sommers is often spotted with Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick at community events.

Fitzpatrick’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the charges.

Sommers did not respond to a request for comment.

Entin said in a statement that his campaign has had other signs stolen and defaced. He also stated a police report has been filed in Buckingham Township over a defaced sign.

“It is discouraging to think that supporters/representatives of Brian Fitzpatrick will go to these measures to win elections. It would have been appropriate for Brian Fitzpatrick to make a statement condemning the actions of his supporters/representatives but to date that has not happened. This is the highest level of censorship. Our freedom of speech is being actively threatened. Our voice is being suppressed via removal of our signs,” he said.

Entin, who is running as a more conservative alternative to Fitzpatrick, faces an uphill battle in next week’s primary facing off against well-funded Fitzpatrick, who has won primary challenges in his past three elections.

The news comes days after a recent Fitzpatrick campaign staffer was reportedly involved in a “potential ‘ballot harvesting’ scheme” in Philadelphia.

In the past, Sommers had made a career as a journalist for the Bucks County Courier Times and infamous tabloid The Trentonian. He launched the ahead-of-its-time online Bucks News Network. Between 2013 and 2014, Sommers wrote about a dozen articles that were published on LevittownNow.com.

Sommers pleaded guilty in 2019 for trafficking protected terrapins. As part of his sentence, he spent time in federal prison, was placed on three years supervised release, and required to pay $250,000 restitution.

There are claims and reports of political signs stolen every election cycle. However, they rarely lead to charges or even suspects being identified.

Law enforcement around the state have previously warned that stealing political signs is illegal and could carry a misdemeanor charge of the third degree.

Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.

Report a correction via email | Editorial standards and policies

---

---