Donald Trump Tombstone Decoration Ignites Controversy In New York Suburb

A fake Donald Trump gravestone Halloween lawn decoration caused conflict in an upstate New York neighborhood, reported News 12 Westchester Tuesday.

Cortlandt, New York resident Fabian Vergara decorated his front lawn for Halloween using a tombstone reading “D. Trump Burn in Hell” as part of his display. Vergara created a fake crime scene on his lawn, placing yellow caution tape on his lawn and a fake corpse made of a rolled garbage bag.

“I’m doing it for fun. It was a joke. I like Halloween,” Vergara said to The Journal News. “I don’t see anything wrong with that. It’s a free country.”

The tombstone, one of five on the lawn, offended some residents of the neighborhood, with one woman taking concrete actions towards its removal. Theresa Gucciardo-Perry, one of Vergara’ neighbors, said she contacted Cortlandt officials to see if the town could force Vergara to remove the Trump tombstone. She also said she wants Vergara out of the neighborhood.

“I want to know how far freedom of speech goes,” she said to The Journal News. “Fabian needs to be removed from the neighborhood.”

Vergara said he had the fake corpse on his lawn since the beginning of October and he only added the Trump tombstone about one week ago. He emphasized the corpse is not meant to represent Trump. According to Vergara, he was willing to remove the tombstone after Gucciardo-Perry asked him to do so Tuesday. However, Vergara, originally from Ecuador, changed his mind when Gucciardo-Perry told him to go back to his country. He lives in the house with his wife and two of their children.

Gucciardo-Perry said she is aware Vergara is an immigrant because she welcomed him to the neighborhood when he and his family moved there about 10 months ago. She cited her police officer husband’s death in the line of duty as a driving force behind her motivation to get the statue removed.

“Is this about Halloween or about you making a political statement?” she said. “You don’t like it here? Get the hell out.”