Better not touch those Support Scott Walker signs.

It may be illegal to deface or destroy yard signs, but that's what recall supporters experience all the time. Yet when it happens to Walker supporters, it’s so very wrong. My own neighbor spent big money ordering a large recall Walker sign online for her yard, only to see it disappear. Since she's a senior, with very little disposable income, another sign is out of the question. So much for free speech.

This story from WEAU features a whole bunch of conservatives, angered over having to experience what recall Walker supporters have had to endure for months.

WEAU: It’s a sign of the times, signs supporting Governor Scott Walker or demanding he be recalled are being stolen and vandalized across the state. WEAU 13 News talked to people on both sides of the issue, who said their rights are under attack because their signs have been stolen, ripped apart and spray painted.

Hjordis Olson and her husband Willem Gebben said they’ve had two recent occurrences where their “Recall Walker” signs have been vandalized. “The sign had been attempted to be ripped apart and it was plastic, there were skid marks in the snow and footprints. We were very disturbed by it,” Olson said. Olson said they replaced their sign, only to have it messed with again a week later. “It was thrown in our driveway. It seemed like there was anger involved, I didn't like that,” Gebben said. Olson believes her home is being singled out because she volunteers in Colfax to collect recall signatures. “I've heard of elderly, handicapped children, people who are suffering terribly because of his policies. So I think it's an emergency, it's the only reason I'm out here,” Olson said.

Signs supporting the republican governor have also been the target of vandals. John Torgerson said he placed a pro-Walker sign along Highway 37 outside Eau Claire and it spray painted three days later. “I was angry, but it also said something about the people who were so opposed to Scott Walker,” Torgerson said. The local businessman said leaving the damaged sign up is more powerful than replacing it. “I wanted the community to see how these people are acting. It's very radical, it's nothing but vandalism, it's sour grapes, they're going to lose this battle,” Torgerson said.  “These signs are personal property and if you control the property, you have the right to put up a sign of your choosing,” Torgerson said.

An attorney we spoke with said political signs are protected under law and damaging them can lead to criminal charges.