GUILFORD, Conn. — Connecticut's weather-predicting groundhog, Chuckles, is not getting the last laugh following an arrest Thursday.
Guilford police are accusing the groundhog of "defrauding the public" by predicting an early spring when winter clearly made its presence still known with a snowstorm that hit the state Tuesday.
"Defrauding the public is a crime and you must be held accountable," The Guilford Police Department said on social media Monday, before the snowstorm. "Chuckles, this is New England… you don’t scare us."
Chuckles "decided to peacefully surrender" and turned himself in Thursday, according to the Lutz Children's Museum in Manchester, where the groundhog resides.
"'Chuck the liar?!' A little harsh, don't ya think?" Lutz said on social media. The museum shared a photo of the alleged fraudster in the back of a police cruiser.
Manchester police then took Chuckles to the Guilford Police Department, where he awaits to post a $10,000 bond, Lutz said.
Lutz is now asking the public to help "free Chuckles" by making a donation to the non-profit organization.
"He said an early spring. That doesn't mean immediately lol," one Facebook user said, to which Lutz replied, "We agree, he is INNOCENT!"
Chuckles has since promised to try to be "an honest, well-behaved citizen to represent his home state," according to Lutz.
Two other "official" weather-predicting animals in Connecticut - Beardsley Bart and Scramble the Duck - also predicted early spring. It is not clear if police are seeking additional "defrauding the public" arrests with these similar predictions.
CLIMATE MATTERS: Solar spring is here, when daylight increases the fastest all year
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