The Augusta County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a clown sighting in the Fort Defiance area on Saturday, meaning, yes, the nonsense has come our way.
Sheriff Donald Smith issued a press release with details on the reported sighting, on the 100 block of River Bend Road, around 9 p.m. Saturday.
Deputies were on location at 9:10 p.m. to investigate, but, shocker, were not able to find anyone dressed as clowns.
The report had come in from a man fishing in the area with his children who was approached by two separate vehicles leaving the area at a high rate of speed who stopped to warn him that several people in the woodland area were dressed as clowns.
“This is a growing problem across the Commonwealth. Please do not engage in this illegal behavior,” said Smith, pointing to Virginia Code Section 18.2-422, which prohibits a person over the age of 16 from wearing a mask, hood or other device to conceal their identity.
How clown makeup, an oversized red nose and a wig could intersect with the code is a good question, perhaps one for the ACLU to take up.
“Dressing as a clown and approaching people can result in someone getting seriously hurt. I strongly recommend not to engage in this behavior and want everyone to be aware of the Virginia law which prohibits this behavior,” Smith said.
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