An Orange County man, John Muder, is in the hospital with a severe brain bleed after an alleged assault by his neighbor over political signs—a Kamala Harris sign that went missing and a Trump flag that was later found trashed. The incident began when Muder’s neighbor had his Harris-Walz sign stolen and reportedly suspected Muder, who has a Trump flag on his garage, of taking it.
In an interview with Fox 11, Muder explained that his Trump flag soon went missing as well. Suspecting his neighbor might be retaliating, Muder checked the neighbor’s trash bin and found his Trump flag buried inside. “I was on the sidewalk,” Muder said. “I knew he had a Ring camera, so I said, ‘Hey, can you stay off my property?’ I left.”
But soon after, the situation escalated. “Not 10 or 15 minutes later, he came over to my house, screaming and yelling,” Muder recalled. Surveillance footage captured the heated exchange, which turned violent when, according to Muder, his neighbor attacked him, leaving him in his garage.
“He knocked me out. I have a major brain bruise in the back of my head. I got kicked in the face,” Muder told Fox 11. “There was blood everywhere. He left me there basically on my own to survive.” Muder was diagnosed with a brain bleed and sent to the hospital with a concussion and extensive injuries.
His wife, Lourdes Barrueto, expressed deep anger over the incident. “He could be dead right now, and this man didn’t care,” she told Fox 11. “All because we have a Trump flag.” Muder himself voiced disbelief over the extreme reaction: “I just can’t believe the violence. For what? A flag? If you’re willing to hurt someone over a political view, you need serious help.”
Fox 11 confirmed that local police arrested a man at Muder’s residence on charges of assault and battery. The suspect was later released on bail, but the incident highlights ongoing political tensions that have led to threats and violent altercations across the country.
