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Man Claims "Impeach Obama" Sign Painted Over

PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio 1020 KDKA) -- His message may not be for everyone, but the president of the Mon Valley Republican Committee says his freedom to deliver that message is being trampled on.

Brent Kovac put up a sign outside his Port Vue-based strip mall office reading "Impeach Obama" last week, and said that within 48 hours the sign had been painted over by his landlord.

Kovac said he's rented the space for nine years and has hung political signs before, but this time his landlord told him that if he didn't remove it he would be evicted.

Monday night, several days after the sign had been painted over, Kovac painted the same message over again.

He said he's not sure exactly why his landlord has a problem with the sign, but said she may fear retribution from members of the community who had vandalized his storefront office before.

Kovac said his message is part of the "Overpasses for Obama's Impeachment" campaign, although Pennsylvania was not one of the 14 states officially listed as participating on the group's website.

But his message, he also claims, is protected by the U.S. Constitution.

"If I would've put an 'I love Obama' mural up there," said Kovac, "I would probably have every ACLU lawyer from here to San Francisco in a circle up there holding hands in front of my sign."

As of Tuesday, Kovac said he had not received any official support from civil rights organizations, nor from Allegheny County Republicans.

Calls to his landlord and the ACLU were not returned.

impeach-obama-sign-painted-
(Photo Credit: Brent Kovac)

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