Police Arrest Man For Allegedly Firing Shots At Trump Supporter After Ripping Down His Flag
North Carolina deputies arrested a Georgia man and later extradited him after he allegedly tore down a Trump banner and opened fire on the owner of a rafting company during a confrontation on September 6, according to the Swain County Sheriff’s Office.
Benjamin Michael Campbell, of Atlanta, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury, discharging a firearm into an enclosure to incite fear and willful and wanton injury to personal property in connection with the incident outside the Paddle Inn Rafting Company in Nantahala Gorge. The sheriff’s office said Campbell was arrested Sept. 30, extradited to Swain County on Oct. 7 and held on $70,000 bond. (RELATED: The Inverted Iceberg: No One Is Fooled by the Left’s ‘No Kings’ Madness)
“I don’t want to kill anyone. My life must be in danger. I fired two shots in the air,” homeowner Mark Thomas told WLOS, describing his reaction before the shooter “returned fire multiple times from the road.”
Officers said they were called to the scene around 5:52 p.m. on September 6 for reports of shots fired, but the suspect vehicle had already left. Investigators then obtained video of a man parking, crossing the road and tearing up a pro-Trump banner belonging to Thomas’ 87-year-old mother before the exchange of gunfire began, Thomas and the sheriff’s office told the outlet.
After identifying a suspicious vehicle, Swain County detectives traveled to Cobb County, Georgia, where Campbell was arrested on September 30; he was returned to North Carolina on Oct. 7, the sheriff’s office said.
The case stems from an incident caught on CCTV outside Thomas’ business along Highway 19 West in the Nantahala Gorge. No injuries were reported during the initial dispatch; Authorities have not released additional details about possible damage caused by the shooting. Campbell’s initial court date and attorney information were not immediately available.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Swain County Sheriff’s Office.
