An 80-year-old man who was putting up a Trump 2024 campaign sign in his yard was run over by a man in an all-terrain vehicle in Michigan, leaving him critically injured after what police describe as a politically motivated attack.
The suspect, 22, in the vehicle ramming, which occurred on Sunday in the city of Hancock, called police to confess before taking his own life, officials report.
Police say he vandalized two parked vehicles, smashing the windows of one that displayed a Trump sticker, and damaging the tires of another that had a sticker supporting police, before targeting the elderly man.
The 80-year-old man was taken to the hospital with critical injuries after being struck from behind by the suspect’s ATV, according to the police.
“The crimes reported in the city of Hancock appeared to be politically motivated, involving victims who displayed Trump election signs as well as stickers and flags commonly referred to as ‘thin blue line’ paraphernalia,” supporting law enforcement, the Houghton County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
On Monday, police went to a home nearby the attack after receiving a call from a person who said he wanted to “confess a crime involving an ATV driver within the last 24 hours,” and asked officers to come pick him up. When the police arrived at the home, they found the suspect dead from what they believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Hancock Police Chief Tami Sleeman told Detroit News that nobody else is believed to have played a role in the attack. He reported that electronics have been seized from the 22-year-old man’s home, and the FBI is involved in the investigation.
“What this has done to this community is pretty upsetting,” Sleeman said. “Our concern is the safety of everybody here. Politics should not bring violence.”
These reported attacks occurred just over a week after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks at a political rally in Pennsylvania, which left one spectator dead and multiple with injuries. Crooks was shot and killed by police snipers shortly after the attempt.
Following the Michigan incident, The Times reported a spokesman for Trump’s new Democratic opponent for the 2024 election, Kamala Harris, as well as Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, each issued statements condemning political violence.
