In California, a man faces charges of attempted murder after allegedly causing critical injuries to another individual near a residence in Escondido, known for its prominent displays of American flags, pro-Trump messages, and various banners, local authorities report.
The suspect, identified as 32-year-old Thomas Caleb Butler, is currently detained at the Vista Detention Facility located in San Diego County.
On Wednesday around 2:15 p.m., Escondido police received calls regarding an assault occurring at the junction of East Mission Avenue and Buchanan Street.
Upon arrival, officers discovered an elderly man with severe injuries, and noted that a good Samaritan who attempted to help had also been injured, according to police statements.
Police tape surrounds the Escondido residence where the elderly man was severely injured, and a good Samaritan was harmed while intervening in what appeared to be an attack. Authorities have arrested 32-year-old Thomas Caleb Butler on suspicion of attempted murder.
By the time they arrived, the suspect had fled on foot, police said. However, additional officers found him about a half-mile away. Records show Butler lives around the corner from the victim.
Escondido police did not name the victim, who was hospitalized in critical condition. Public records show the property is owned by a 69-year-old man.
Police speak near markers in the street outside an Escondido home where an elderly man was nearly killed Wednesday.
I’m calling for a full and immediate investigation.
Details still developing, but the truth is that supporters of @realDonaldTrump are routinely the victims of leftist violence all across the country. https://t.co/LAYvulRsA9
— Rep. Darrell Issa (@repdarrellissa) May 21, 2026
Reports of the attack prompted Rep. Darrell Issa, whose district includes parts of Escondido, to demand “a full and immediate investigation.”
Some neighbors have complained about the displays for years, which tower over the side of the property.
Video taken in the aftermath of the attack shows a man pointing responding officers toward something and then gesturing as though someone was being kicked or stomped.
Police placed evidence markers in the street and photographed the front of the home, near a mailbox and a parked pickup truck with two American flags set up over the bed.
Police man the perimeter after taping off the intersection near where an elderly man was almost killed in an attack Wednesday that led to attempted murder charges for the suspect, 32-year-old Thomas Caleb Butler, of Escondido, California.
Just a few feet away, another parked car had its hood propped open.
Another image showed what appeared to be blood at the foot of the driveway between the two vehicles.
An Escondido police officer moves down the front walkway outside the home where an elderly man was almost killed Wednesday in Southern California.
Escondido police did not immediately respond to a request for comment before West Coast business hours Thursday.
A Reddit post in the r/sandiego forum last year showed a man in a folding chair sitting on the sidewalk outside the home, with an American flag in his right hand and the left gesturing in what the poster described as a “Roman salute.”
1 comment
You wrote “American flags and other pro trump displays,” which implies American flags are pro trump displays. The use of the word other in your sentence is unnecessary and conveys a very strange skewing of the meaning of flying an American flag. I hope you edit that, kind of disgusting to associate the symbol that represents all of us as Americans as being a symbol that is pro any specific president.