80-year-old Trump supporter struck by ATV driver in Michigan recovering; deceased suspect's name released



The elderly man who was run down by an ATV driver in an apparently politically motivated attack in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan last weekend is back home and recovering, cops say, and the identity of the suspect in the case has now been released.

Last Sunday, a suspect driving an ATV unleashed a show of rage against signs and images supporting law enforcement and/or former President Donald Trump, as Blaze News previously reported. The suspect apparently damaged tire valves, smashed windows, and even tore off a mirror on at least two vehicles sporting Trump or "thin blue line" stickers in Hancock, Michigan, a small city at the base of the Keweenaw Peninsula, the stretch of land in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that juts out into Lake Superior.

'We’re looking into the media devices and hoping that we find some indication in those devices themselves as to what his mindset would have been.'

In addition to the acts of vandalism, the ATV driver also targeted an 80-year-old Hancock man who had Trump signs posted on his front lawn. First, the driver tore the signs down. When the man attempted to put them back up, the ATV driver ran him down from behind, causing serious injuries, reportedly including a brain bleed.

The Hancock Police Department has since shared a promising update about the victim and his condition. He was released from the hospital on Wednesday night and "will be recovering at home," the police statement said.

Hancock Police Chief Tami Sleeman called the victim's improvement "really good news."

In the press release, the department also revealed the name of the suspect: Joshua Kemppainen, a 22-year-old resident of Quincy Township, just north of Hancock.

On Monday, Hancock police received a call from an individual believed to be Kemppainen. The caller wanted to "confess a crime involving an ATV driver within the last 24 hours" and asked cops to come pick him up.

When deputies and officers arrived at the Quincy residence associated with the caller, they found Kemppainen dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. On his property, they found the ATV believed to have struck the elderly Hancock man as well as clothing that matched clothes seen on surveillance images of the ATV driver. They also confiscated some digital devices that will be passed along for forensic analysis at the Michigan State Crime Lab in Marquette.

"We did not find any notes or anything like that at this point," said Houghton County Sheriff Josh Saaranen. "We’re looking into the media devices and hoping that we find some indication in those devices themselves as to what his mindset would have been, or his MO."

Kemppainen "had no prior known contacts with local law enforcement," the police press release said.

In the wake of the apparently politically motivated attacks, Sheriff Saaranen called for unity. "We don’t have to agree with each other at all times," he said, "but we as a community need to come together."

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Someone is planting 'Racism Lives Here' signs in lawns of Trump supporters in California



Supporters of President Donald Trump are being pranked by someone posting "Racism Lives Here" signs in their front yards as a way to criticize their political preference.

The signs popped up in front yards of Trump supporters in Coronado, California, near San Diego.

The red, white, and blue signs were designed in the style of Trump signs, but were clearly meant to insult Trump supporters.

One couple spoke to KNSD-TV about the racist sign they found in their yard. They were likely targeted because they had a Trump flag hanging at their home.

"It was sad that anybody would think that about us, first of all, just because of the flag we have, because that's just not us," said Ken Slanie.

"We've lived in Coronado since 1968," he added. "So we've been here 52 years, and I've never seen anything like this before, where people are so divided and it's ridiculous. Everybody, we've got friends that are Biden fans and friends that are Trump fans and friends of all nationalities, and I've never seen anything like this before in Coronado, and it's kind of sad to see that."

Police spokeswoman Lea Corbin told KNSD that police had investigated three homes where the unwanted signs were installed, but that there was no crime committed.

"We do not have a crime," Corbin said in the email statement. "Simply placing a sign in another's yard may be unwanted but [is] not a crime."

The San Diego-Union Tribune reported that the Coronado Police Department received six calls from residents reporting the unwanted signs in their yards. They added that one resident posted a photograph of the sign on a private Facebook group and called it, "shameful, hateful and really pathetic."

Here's a local news report about the incidents:

Trump supporting couple finds unwanted signage on their front lawnwww.youtube.com

Vandals repeatedly destroy one man's Trump campaign signs, so he executes a brilliant, immovable backup plan



Vandals couldn't stop Tennessee man Adrian Powell from showing his support of President Donald Trump even when they repeatedly tore down his campaign signs.

Powell abandoned the flimsy signs after vandals refused to let them stand and instead erected a massive pro-Trump display consisting of hay bales in his yard where the signs previously stood.

What are the details?

According to Fox News, Powell, a Red Boiling Springs resident, crafted the hay bale tribute to the president after vandals cut down at least six Trump 2020 campaign signs.

Painting an American flag motif across a stack of hay bales, Powell crafted an effigy of President Donald Trump, complete with blonde hair and a red tie.

Across the display, he painted "Trump 2020."

Adrian Powell, the owner of a family-run business, said he wanted to make a unique display to support President Don… https://t.co/zrUyc74YEU
— WPEC CBS12 News (@WPEC CBS12 News)1603162801.0

According to WZTV-TV, Powell does not plan to press charges against those vandals who repeatedly damaged his signs, though destroying Trump signs and flags is nothing new these days.

Similar acts of destruction have taken place all across the nation in the days and weeks leading up to Nov. 3's general election

On Thursday, an elderly man confronted a vandal bent on destroying a pro-Trump flag hanging off of a building's balcony. When the elderly man left the scene, the vandal tore down another similar flag.

Earlier this month, a suspect punched a Massachusetts woman through her SUV window — reportedly because she didn't agree with the woman's pro-Trump flags.

Several weeks ago in New Jersey, a teacher hysterically demanded that a student take down a pro-Trump flag that was hanging in the background of the student's home during a virtual classroom lesson.

Earlier this month, anti-Trump vandals went on a campaign sign-stealing spree in an Arizona neighborhood.

In August, an elderly newspaper deliveryman in Pennsylvania reportedly told police that he set fire to a pro-Trump flag on his route because it made him angry, and in a separate incident, thugs attacked a Wisconsin man and his daughter for having the audacity to fly a pro-Trump flag from their camper.