A Michigan man critically injured an 80-year-old by running him over with an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) as the elderly man placed a Trump sign in his yard, in what police describe as a politically motivated attack.
The 22-year-old suspect, responsible for Sunday’s vehicle-ramming incident in Hancock, called police to confess before apparently taking his own life, authorities report. Before targeting the elderly man, the suspect vandalized two parked vehicles—smashing the windows of one displaying a Trump sticker and damaging the tires of another with a police-support sticker.
The incident occurred just over a week after a 20-year-old attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at a political rally in Pennsylvania.
“The crimes reported in the city of Hancock appeared to be politically motivated, involving victims who displayed Trump election signs as well as law enforcement appreciation stickers and flags commonly referred to as ‘thin blue line’ paraphernalia,” stated the Houghton County Sheriff’s Office.
The 80-year-old victim was hospitalized with critical injuries after being struck from behind by the suspect’s ATV.
On Monday, police received a call from a person wanting to “confess a crime involving an ATV driver within the last 24 hours” and asking officers to pick him up. Upon arriving at the location, officers found the suspect dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“What this has done to this community is pretty upsetting,” Hancock Police Chief Tami Sleeman told the Detroit News. “Our concern is the safety of everybody here. Politics should not bring violence.” She added that no one else is believed to have been involved in the attack. Electronics have been seized from the suspect’s home, and the FBI is involved in the investigation.
Statements condemning political violence were released by a spokesman for Donald Trump’s likely Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, and Michigan’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, according to the New York Times.
The attack on the Republican White House candidate has prompted bipartisan calls to reduce the intensity of political rhetoric leading up to November’s election, though the results have been mixed. Last Friday, police in Jupiter, Florida, arrested Michael Wiseman, 68, on suspicion of making online threats towards Trump, his running mate Ohio Senator JD Vance, and their families.