The mayor of Oakland, Tennessee, was arrested Monday and booked on a charge of criminal conspiracy to commit theft of property after police say he orchestrated a plot to steal campaign signs bearing his own opponent's message. George Adrian Wiggins now faces criminal charges alongside two other people accused of helping plan and carry out the theft, according to police accounts of the case.
The investigation began after police were notified that a group of “No Wiggins” signs had been stolen from West Junior High School, as reported by Action News 5. Investigators later received a flash drive containing footage that showed two vehicles pulling up to the school, several people cutting down the campaign signs, and the signs being loaded into a vehicle. That footage became central to building the case against Wiggins and his co-defendants.
Police pulled over one of the vehicles involved in the theft after it was spotted at a McDonald's, though the stop was initially prompted because the driver's window tint was darker than the legal limit. A woman inside the vehicle told police that Wiggins had told her she would be paid for removing the yard signs. She said Wiggins later went to her workplace at Sonic and paid her, and that he reportedly told her to lie about the incident.
Charges Filed Against Mayor and Two Others
George Wiggins, Thomas Wiggins and Isabella Marino are accused of planning and stealing numerous campaign signs, and all three were booked on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit theft of property. Isabella Marino and Thomas Wiggins were each booked on the same conspiracy charge as the mayor, and all three were released on a $2,500 bond. Wiggins reportedly told the woman he had a “good lawyer” if the group got in trouble, according to the account relayed to police.
Wiggins declined to comment on his arrest when reached, per the same reporting. Under Tennessee law, theft of property valued under $1,000 is classified as a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to 11 months and 29 days in jail, while criminal conspiracy to commit that offense is graded one level lower as a Class B misdemeanor, according to the Oberman & Rice Law Firm.
Theft Landed on Election Day, at a Politically Charged Site
The sign theft was reported the same day as Tennessee's State Primary and County General Election in Fayette County, when voters across 18 precincts cast ballots, according to the Fayette County Election Office. West Junior High School, where the signs were cut down, had also previously served as the polling and meeting venue where Wiggins competed for the chairmanship of the Fayette County Republican Party, according to posts from the Fayette County Republican Party.
State law offers specific protection for this kind of campaign material. Under the Tennessee Freedom of Speech Act, political signs placed on private property are statutorily protected from government or third-party interference beginning 60 days before early voting starts through the day after an election, per FindLaw. Separately, Tennessee Code § 2-1-116 requires candidates to remove their own signs from public property and highway rights-of-way within three weeks after an election, though that statute carries no criminal or penal sanctions, according to Justia Law.
A Mayor With a History of Local Political Friction
The arrest follows weeks of public scrutiny for Wiggins over a $1,385 municipal reimbursement approved for an unauthorized trip he took to Washington, D.C., a controversy that had already stirred debate in local Facebook groups. Wiggins, in addition to serving as Oakland's mayor, previously held office as a Fayette County Commissioner representing District 9 after winning two local offices four years earlier, according to the UT County Technical Assistance Service.
Oakland operates under a Board of Aldermen model, with Wiggins serving alongside Vice Mayor Frank Cates, four aldermen, and appointed officials including Town Manager Harvey Ellis and Police Chief Chris Earl, per the Municipal Technical Advisory Service. The town has grown rapidly, with its population expanding more than 24% from 8,936 residents in the 2020 Census to an estimated 11,264 in 2026, driven by residential growth east of Memphis, according to World Population Review.
Wiggins' arrest arrives just two months before Oakland's next regularly scheduled municipal general election for mayor and aldermen seats, set for November 3, alongside state and federal races, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State. Whether the pending charges will affect Wiggins' ability to serve out his term or seek reelection remains an open question, as does whether Marino or Thomas Wiggins will face any related civil or administrative consequences beyond the criminal case now moving through court.
