Rep. Anne Hughes charged over theft of Republican challenger's campaign signs

Residents of the 135th House District in Connecticut now face a new layer of local politics that involves a criminal complaint against their Democratic state representative. Rep. Anne Hughes has been charged with sixth-degree larceny after her property became the location where stolen campaign signs from her Republican opponent were found.

Easton police reported that campaign staff for Darrell Harris filed a complaint on Friday. The missing signs had been posted near the intersection of Route 59 and Judd Road. Investigators located the signs using an AirTag device attached to at least one of them. The tracker signal directed officers to real estate owned by Hughes, who subsequently returned the items.

The incident has injected a personal dispute into a legislative race that already features sharp policy disagreements. The 135th district includes Easton, Weston, and Redding. Hughes faces a misdemeanor summons for the theft. She acknowledged the error in a social media post on Saturday, stating she removed signs that should not have been on public property. She admitted to taking full responsibility for not contacting the opposing campaign or law enforcement before removing the objects.

The theft charge follows a viral moment that has defined Hughes' campaign trail for the past year. On April 15, 2025, Hughes made a remark during a recording after a press conference regarding capital gains tax. She told colleagues, "Tax my people. They won't even notice." The comment was intended to refer to her wealthiest constituents, but it became a central point of attack for Harris and other Republicans.

Harris has used his own yard signs and social media channels to reference the hot mic moment throughout the election cycle. State Rep. Tony Scott, a Republican from Monroe, previously described the comment as Hughes saying the quiet part out loud. The local party has now connected the two events, suggesting the signs disappeared because the representative did not want constituents reminded of her earlier words.

Hughes maintains that the issue was a minor distraction from the substantive policy debates between the candidates. She expressed a commitment to civil discourse for the remainder of the season. Harris, who could not be reached for comment on Sunday, remains the primary challenger in the race. The police report confirms the misdemeanor charge, placing the legal outcome of the sign removal under the jurisdiction of the local court system.