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Kire

(11,086 posts)
Fri Jun 17, 2016, 01:53 AM Jun 2016

Business owner points gun at alleged anti-Trump vandals

Source: Fox 5 San Diego

SAN DIEGO -- A vocal Donald Trump supporter whose business was vandalized last month for his political views allegedly pointed a gun at a group of people who were caught damaging his Trump campaign sign.
“I have the right to put up any sign supporting my candidate of choice, as well as anyone else does,” said Trump supporter Taren Meacham.

Meacham was involved in an incident Wednesday night with a group of people who were damaging his property because of his support for Trump.

In surveillance video shot Wednesday night, a group of people were seen in front of Meacham’s tattoo shop. They take notice of his Trump campaign sign, knock it down and begin to jump on top of it.

Read more: http://fox5sandiego.com/2016/06/16/vocal-trump-supporter-accused-of-pointing-gun-at-anti-trump-vandals/



This the same guy that battered an innocent guy who had his back turned at the Trump rally last month.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1017&pid=377945



Here he is pointing a rifle at people:

http://www.10news.com/news/bankers-hill-man-brandishes-rifle-at-group-who-tamper-with-trump-sign
37 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Business owner points gun at alleged anti-Trump vandals (Original Post) Kire Jun 2016 OP
I do not condone vandalism of private property bluestateguy Jun 2016 #1
*alleged vandalism Kire Jun 2016 #3
As per the article... TipTok Jun 2016 #6
"...so far there are no charges." Kire Jun 2016 #7
Ok... legally alleged... TipTok Jun 2016 #8
The sign was left out in the public right away. Kire Sep 2016 #37
Same here. 7962 Jun 2016 #10
don't vandalize people's property Angel Martin Jun 2016 #21
Exactly. getting tired of seeing these things growing. it DOESNT help. 7962 Jun 2016 #23
Nor, do I ... But pointing a gun at the vandals is a tad of an over the top response. 1StrongBlackMan Jun 2016 #15
Not only that, but the Trump crowd feeds off this stuff Warpy Jun 2016 #27
I agree. DavidDvorkin Jun 2016 #16
I do not condone disproportional response. LanternWaste Jun 2016 #35
It's sad he decided to escalate the level of violence scscholar Jun 2016 #2
Got that right! InAbLuEsTaTe Jun 2016 #4
You knocked down my sign Eko Jun 2016 #5
Good point. davidthegnome Jun 2016 #11
Offsetting charges maybe? JustABozoOnThisBus Jun 2016 #13
What a nut Geronimoe Jun 2016 #9
When I lived in a red area, I expected the Obama signs to get taken down. Kire Jun 2016 #12
Interesting Point sangfroid Jun 2016 #14
He's lucky a police officer didn't roll by and see him aiming like that. Kire Jun 2016 #19
You know before this election is over there will be a Don the con related death kimbutgar Jun 2016 #17
Quite possibly that guy in this story. FSogol Jun 2016 #22
Might kill themselves! 7962 Jun 2016 #24
some folks have yard signs stolen or vandalized on a nightly basis Red area dembotoz Jun 2016 #18
Exactly Kire Jun 2016 #20
I have a better idea jmowreader Jun 2016 #25
The man would have been foolish to assume that this band of vandals were not armed themselves. Trust Buster Jun 2016 #26
Pretty much don't trash other people's stuff, christx30 Jun 2016 #28
...!100++++ 840high Jun 2016 #29
He left the 10x8 foot sign out loose on the sidewalk in a major downtown urban area. Kire Jun 2016 #30
What do women expect will happen branford Jun 2016 #31
So we can leave our babies outside in the war zone and shame the people who abuse & kill them later? Kire Jun 2016 #32
They deserved to get guns pointed at them? Kire Jun 2016 #33
Ok. We'll agree that both sides christx30 Jun 2016 #34
No one's property was entered. Kire Jun 2016 #36
 

TipTok

(2,474 posts)
6. As per the article...
Fri Jun 17, 2016, 03:43 AM
Jun 2016
In surveillance video shot Wednesday night, a group of people were seen in front of Meacham’s tattoo shop. They take notice of his Trump campaign sign, knock it down and begin to jump on top of it.

Kire

(11,086 posts)
37. The sign was left out in the public right away.
Mon Sep 12, 2016, 05:53 PM
Sep 2016

This is against the San Diego Municipal Code, as is wrapping the sign on the telephone pole.

The people who were threatened were as innocent as they would be if they were cleaning up litter.

He set a trap for them.

Angel Martin

(942 posts)
21. don't vandalize people's property
Fri Jun 17, 2016, 08:55 PM
Jun 2016

and don't go to their rallies to impede or assault people.

If you wouldn't like it done to you, don't do it to them.

 

7962

(11,841 posts)
23. Exactly. getting tired of seeing these things growing. it DOESNT help.
Fri Jun 17, 2016, 09:47 PM
Jun 2016

And seeing videos of some of these anti trump protestors attacking people and waving mexican flags. Really? You're gonna protest trump & wave a MEXICAN flag? Stuff like that just pushes people off the fence onto HIS side
Its almost like he PAID people to do that stupid of an act.

Warpy

(110,908 posts)
27. Not only that, but the Trump crowd feeds off this stuff
Sat Jun 18, 2016, 04:42 PM
Jun 2016

A couple of kids jump on a sign? SHOOT 'EM!

It's going to happen, sooner or later. Trump whips these morons into a foaming and paranoid fury. All that rage has got to go somewhere.

 

scscholar

(2,902 posts)
2. It's sad he decided to escalate the level of violence
Fri Jun 17, 2016, 02:05 AM
Jun 2016

Of course, that's the entire point behind the push for more concealed carry.

Eko

(7,170 posts)
5. You knocked down my sign
Fri Jun 17, 2016, 03:06 AM
Jun 2016

I think a well reasoned response to this is to brandish a semi auto rifle at you. How can this man not have been arrested?
This is what is wrong with us.

davidthegnome

(2,983 posts)
11. Good point.
Fri Jun 17, 2016, 08:14 AM
Jun 2016

Seems to me that the appropriate response would have been to call the police - maybe press charges for destruction of private property. Still...

It's pretty damned foolish to go around knocking down signs in the first place. Particularly when we are dealing with Trump supporters, who we have good reason to suspect are rather unhinged to begin with, perhaps we ought to be a bit more careful. I figure if people started knocking down and jumping all over one of my signs, I'd ask them to stop and threaten to call their parents or the police... then again, if they were adults... and Trump supporters...

Then it would certainly occur to me to wonder whether or not they had a gun - and how they might react if I confronted them. Even if they didn't have a gun, I'm not exactly Bruce Lee. I live in a household without any fire arms, where the nearest police officer, Sheriff, or whatever, on any given day... could be as far as 25-30 miles away. It hasn't gotten quite so ugly in my neck of the woods (yet) that people are jumping each other in the street or destroying each other's property, but it could certainly get there, even in the little place I live in.

A reasoned response would not be to draw a weapon, but we are not living in reasonable times. My concern is more about Trump supporters than those on my side of the fence - as the current situation seems to indicate most of the violence is coming from them. That could also change.

Hard to say what the right response would be if a group did this to my stuff. Most likely I'd ignore it, wait until they were gone, and put everything back up. If it happened again, then I'd call the Sheriff. My neighbors though? Most of them have hunting rifles, at the least - and there's no knowing what they might do.

JustABozoOnThisBus

(23,283 posts)
13. Offsetting charges maybe?
Fri Jun 17, 2016, 08:42 AM
Jun 2016

A couple of misdemeanors: destruction of the political sign, and brandishing a weapon.

Maybe both sides decided they didn't want to proceed.

Or, maybe the cops will wait to hear from the prosecutor's office before moving on either misdemeanor.

 

Geronimoe

(1,539 posts)
9. What a nut
Fri Jun 17, 2016, 07:24 AM
Jun 2016

He's planning to shot someone for bending his Trump sign.

He most likely is violating the law by placing his sign on a public sidewalk.

Kire

(11,086 posts)
12. When I lived in a red area, I expected the Obama signs to get taken down.
Fri Jun 17, 2016, 08:29 AM
Jun 2016

I used to fantasize about waiting in the bushes with a camera. It never occurred to me to shoot them with a gun. Self defense in california only applies to reasonable fear of threat to body or life, not a political sign.

Taren lives downtown in the second largest urban area in the bluest state in the country. Not that it's right, but he knows it's going to happen. He needs professional help.

 

sangfroid

(212 posts)
14. Interesting Point
Fri Jun 17, 2016, 08:57 AM
Jun 2016

As the old saying has it, "never point a gun at someone unless you are prepared to use it." Was he prepared to shoot another human being over some damage to a sign? I thought that's why we had police.

Or even more realistically, what if the firearm had accidentally gone off, a not-unknown occurance. Now you have a dead or wounded person all over a sign. Living with that is no easy thing.

Kire

(11,086 posts)
19. He's lucky a police officer didn't roll by and see him aiming like that.
Fri Jun 17, 2016, 08:49 PM
Jun 2016

He looks like a terrorist.

kimbutgar

(20,876 posts)
17. You know before this election is over there will be a Don the con related death
Fri Jun 17, 2016, 12:34 PM
Jun 2016

One of his unhinged supporters is going to kill someone.

dembotoz

(16,739 posts)
18. some folks have yard signs stolen or vandalized on a nightly basis Red area
Fri Jun 17, 2016, 01:20 PM
Jun 2016

i have had a number stolen from my place
i know some folks put vaseline on the edges to the vandle at least gets his hands yucky

its not a problem when the signs are free but when they charge 5 each for them it gets expensive

jmowreader

(50,451 posts)
25. I have a better idea
Sat Jun 18, 2016, 04:25 PM
Jun 2016

Everyone needs to quit frequenting Love and Terror Tattoo, which is located at 121 West Juniper Street in the City of San Diego. It's not like a Navy town doesn't have a billion places that aren't run by armed Trump supporters to get a tattoo.

 

Trust Buster

(7,299 posts)
26. The man would have been foolish to assume that this band of vandals were not armed themselves.
Sat Jun 18, 2016, 04:32 PM
Jun 2016

He didn't go to their property, they came to his. That's the root of the matter.

christx30

(6,241 posts)
28. Pretty much don't trash other people's stuff,
Sat Jun 18, 2016, 05:46 PM
Jun 2016

and there won't be a problem.
I don't like Trump. I'm going to vote against him in November. But I wouldn't trash a Trump supporter's stuff. Not only because of this issue with the business owner and his gun, but because it's just wrong. Win on ideas. Not vandalism.

Kire

(11,086 posts)
30. He left the 10x8 foot sign out loose on the sidewalk in a major downtown urban area.
Sun Jun 19, 2016, 12:33 PM
Jun 2016

If I left my bicycle or any other piece of property out there, I would expect it to be stolen or vandalized.

These people weren't democratic activists planning to go out and destroy Trump signs, like the Republicans do in rural areas. They were drunks walking down the street. He laid a trap and was waiting for them with his rifle and sidearm strapped to his leg.

 

branford

(4,462 posts)
31. What do women expect will happen
Sun Jun 19, 2016, 01:52 PM
Jun 2016

when they wear short skirts and drink alcohol...





Your post is classic victim blaming.

I certainly don't support Trump, and believe brandishing the firearm was an overreaction (and possibly illegal under the circumstances), but there's absolutely no excuse or legal defense for people knowingly vandalizing someone else's property because they don't like the ideas expressed. A Trump political sign is not a "trap," and even suggesting it does nothing but give free reign to conservatives vandalizing (or worse) the homes, property and persons of liberals and Democrats.

Kire

(11,086 posts)
32. So we can leave our babies outside in the war zone and shame the people who abuse & kill them later?
Tue Jun 21, 2016, 10:13 PM
Jun 2016

Last edited Tue Jun 21, 2016, 10:45 PM - Edit history (1)

Watch the film "Meet the Hitlers". Heath Campbell got his kids taken away for naming them Adolf Hitler Campbell, Eva, Heinrich, and AryanNation. By your logic, we should let Campbell keep his kids and lock up all the children and adults who might bully them or make them uncomfortable later on - or worse, let Campbell point a gun at anybody who makes fun of them.

That trump sign is certainly a trap if you leave it out in an urban area where there are bars, and you wait for people to come by with your rifle and sidearm to run out in the street to terrorize them.

PS - I never said there was a legal excuse or defense for vandalism.

Kire

(11,086 posts)
33. They deserved to get guns pointed at them?
Tue Jun 21, 2016, 10:14 PM
Jun 2016

Maybe it's the short skirts they were wearing, not the vandalism.

christx30

(6,241 posts)
34. Ok. We'll agree that both sides
Wed Jun 22, 2016, 11:40 AM
Jun 2016

we're wrong. The vandals were 90% wrong for going into someone's property and trashing stuff that didn't belong to them because they didn't like someone's political stance.
The guy with the gun was 10% wrong for pointing a gun over vandalism.
But I generally think that someone that starts the problem is going to be in the wrong. Beat trump with ideas and his own words. But if it's ok for our side to destroy, it's ok for their side to retaliate. This doesn't have to be a nasty, uncivil election. But so far it's turning out to be the worst in my lifetime.

Kire

(11,086 posts)
36. No one's property was entered.
Thu Jun 23, 2016, 02:56 AM
Jun 2016

The 8 foot by 10 foot sign was left loose sitting on the sidewalk in a downtown area.

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