A Biden supporter stands accused of shooting at Trump supporters while installing a political sign outside his home. If convicted, he faces up to 100 years in prison, but shockingly, the Trump supporter says he doesn’t want that.
Douglas Kuhn, a 50-year-old resident of Kingsville, Maryland, was arrested after allegedly shooting at Neal Houk and his son, Bradley Lang, on Saturday. The shooting took place while Kuhn was in the process of installing a political sign outside his home, according to The Blaze. While some outlets reported that Kuhn was installing a Biden 2020 sign on his property, others said it was a Black Lives Matter sign.
Regardless of what the sign said, it was while Kuhn was installing it that Houk and Lang were traveling down his street and saw the man, who they do not know, according to Houk. As they drove past him in their truck, which proudly displayed Trump flags and a large campaign sign, Houk decided to honk the horn in what his son says was intended as a friendly gesture, according to CBS 13 WJZ. Sadly, it set Kuhn off.
In response to the horn, Kuhn allegedly picked up a shotgun and fired it at Houk’s pickup. “There was a gentleman in the field putting up a banner, and I blew the horn and he had a shotgun right there and he reached down, picked it up, pointed it,” Houk said. “My son was in the passenger seat. We looked straight down the barrel and we looked in disbelief and then right there he fired the shotgun.”
Following the incident, the two were terrified but able to get to a safe place, where they phoned police about the alleged attack. Although the shots missed Houk and Lang, they were still rightfully shaken up by the ordeal. “We see what’s going on in the country, and I really didn’t expect it right here at home,” Houk explained. “Then to hear the gunshot, we were rattled. I’m shaking just talking about it.”
Lang was also shocked that the violent, politically-charged incident happened so close to home. “It’s Kingsville, it’s a friendly area. Everyone honks at each other,” he said. “We were hoping there could be some civility between people who support different candidates. [Kuhn] picked up the shotgun from near his feet and ran towards us aiming it, and we got 100, 200 feet down the road, [and] he began to fire.”
Douglas Kuhn was arrested and charged with two counts of first- and second-degree assault, as well as reckless endangerment and a felony firearm charge. Police confiscated two firearms from his property, and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger said he will remain jailed without bail until private home detention can be arranged.
If convicted, Kuhn could face up to 100 years in prison. Surprisingly, however, Houk said he doesn’t want to see Kuhn receive that kind of punishment, which is a profound example of tolerance, all things considered.
This wasn’t the first time Kuhn allegedly had trouble over his political signs. According to a neighbor David Franz, Kuhn had erected pro-Biden and BLM signs in the past, but the signs had reportedly been torn down by others in the area, Fox 45 reported. “The Black Lives Matter sign was down, and one of the Biden signs was down,” Franz said. “They [were] flags that were torn down.”
Obviously, it matters little that his signs were allegedly torn down previously. Someone honking their horn while displaying the campaign signs of a political opponent never warrants firing shots in their direction. That’s what we face on a regular basis in our nation today, though, and similar events are taking place all across the country as political violence appears to have increased as Election Day nears.
In fact, the Monday morning after this incident, a man and his girlfriend were viciously beaten because they were driving with a pro-Trump flag on their truck in Oklahoma City, police say. After the couple arrived at a gas station with a large “Trump 2020” flag attached to the tailgate of their truck, a verbal altercation turned physical and a fight resulted in the flag being torn from the truck, The Blaze reported. It didn’t end there, though.
In that incident, the man and his girlfriend ended up being beaten so badly that they were bleeding from their nose, mouth, and both of their eyes. Friends of the couple also said on Facebook that they had to receive staples in their heads over their injuries, KOCO reported.
These incidents paint a troubling picture of the reality that we currently find ourselves in as a nation, and even the authorities are disturbed that the political climate has gotten so volatile and violent. “How did it get to the point where he pulls out a shotgun? What has the world come to?” Baltimore County District Court Judge Philip Tirabassi asked, referring to Douglas Kuhn’s alleged crime. “This is beyond belief. Free speech. Why resort to weaponry? This could have been horrible.” We couldn’t have said it better.
