Bar Harbor Erases Activist's Sidewalk Chalk, Now Weighs New Rules
Officials cited the message's permanence, not its content, as an activist who has chalked messages about Leonard Leo since 2022 disputes their cleaning method.
Bar Harbor's Public Works Department scrubbed a political message from a downtown sidewalk earlier in May, prompting town officials to consider new rules for chalk messaging on public property, according to the Bangor Daily News. The message was one of several activist Annlinn Kruger has placed on sidewalks in Bar Harbor and neighboring Mount Desert since 2022, most focused on conservative lobbyist Leonard Leo, a Mount Desert resident and Federalist Society co-chair.
Bar Harbor's code has no explicit rule against chalking sidewalks or roads. In 2022, an officer told Kruger she could face a criminal mischief charge, but the department's current chief, David Kerns, later told officers not to charge her or others over such messages, citing free-speech rights. Kerns said the recent removal was based on the message's permanence rather than its content, adding that the town has found chalk paint harder to remove than in past years.
Kruger disputed the town's use of a cleaning product called Goof Off, saying "there is no oil in my chalk paint." Kerns said he plans to meet with Kruger to set removal parameters before she posts more messages.
This story was first reported by Bangor Daily News.
