A troubling incident in North Carolina has captured attention, as a man claims he faced gunfire from an irate driver who dismantled a Trump banner from his mother’s yard. This alarming episode, according to the man involved, underscores the intensifying political tensions across the nation.
Mark Thomas, the owner of a river rafting business nestled in the Nantahala Gorge, recounted the unsettling events of September 6th. While unwinding at home that day, Thomas found himself in an unexpected and dangerous situation.
Upon reviewing his security footage, Thomas observed a man, masked in what he described as “Antifa-style” attire, stepping out of a Jeep Cherokee. The footage revealed the man inspecting the Trump banner affixed to a bus near the residence of Thomas’s 87-year-old mother.
The suspect, later identified by law enforcement as 38-year-old Benjamin Michael Campbell, was reportedly driving at high speed before abruptly stopping to remove the banner. This brazen act was captured on camera, with Thomas sharing the footage on his YouTube channel.
In response to the unfolding scene, Thomas, a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, armed himself with a rifle and moved to his porch, ready to confront the unexpected threat.
“Being a Second Amendment believer, I reached over, grabbed my rifle and took off out there to the porch,” Thomas said.
Thomas said he fired two warning shots into the air before Campbell allegedly got back into his vehicle and opened fire through the sunroof. Campbell then fled — only to return moments later and fire several more shots, striking a refrigerator inside the home, he said.
Campbell, an Atlanta-based accountant, fled before police arrived. He was arrested on Sept. 30 and extradited to North Carolina, where he faces charges including felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury, discharging a firearm within an enclosure to incite fear, and willful and wanton injury to personal property.
Thomas said he was stunned to learn the suspect was a professional in his late 30s.
Benjamin Michael Campbell allegedly ripped down a “Trump” banner off an old sign at a North Carolina home. As he was pulling away in his car, he allegedly opened his sunroof and fired his gun in the owner’s direction. (Swain County Sheriff’s Office)
“Some of these people, they just see a Trump sign and they just snap,” he said. “The whole time I’m thinking, ‘This is some 20-year-old kid, and he’s going to figure it out eventually’.”
“That was really my hesitation,” he added. “I thought: ‘You know, son, you’re going to live another day.’ And I came to find out this guy is 38-years-old and an accountant — out here in a full Antifa outfit.”
Thomas said he almost didn’t call the police after the first round of shots but changed his mind when Campbell returned and opened fire again.
He added that his mother had several other Trump signs on her property that Campbell never saw.
“His head would have just completely exploded,” Thomas said.
Thomas also noted that he had no intention of harming Campbell, citing the shooter’s poor aim.
A suspect seen on security video after he allegedly tore down a Trump banner in North Carolina. (Mark Thomas / YouTube )
“The only thing that saved his life was the fact that he couldn’t shoot that well,” he said. “You would’ve had to hit me pretty good to get me to not do what I was ready to do.”
The shooting happened four days before the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk — an event that Thomas said “really woke people up” to the violence happening amid deep political divisions across the country.
He claimed some Democratic officials have publicly encouraged hostility toward conservatives, further fueling divisions.
Thomas said he hopes to one day speak with Campbell to understand what motivated the attack.
Benjamin Michael Campbell, 38, allegedly pointed a gun out of a vehicle sunroof and opened fire. (Mark Thomas / YouTube)
“I’d really like to talk to that guy and find out what’s in his head,” Thomas said. “I’d like him to look at the video and see me standing on my porch and realize how close he came to losing his life over a banner.”
“I swear I’ve thought about putting $10 on his (jail) account and getting him to call me,” he added.
