OC man hospitalized after alleged fight with neighbor over Trump flag
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - An Orange County man was hospitalized with serious injuries following a fight with a neighbor over a Donald Trump flag.
"He didn’t care one iota about my health after he left," said John Muder. "He left me there, in my opinion, to die."
Muder spoke exclusively with FOX 11 Saturday morning via Zoom from his hospital room. Muder said he has been in the hospital for three days with a concussion.
"I had bleeding of the brain," said Muder. "I just can’t believe the violence this guy alluded to. For what? A flag? Are you kidding me?"
John Muder in the hospital after he said his neighbor attacked him over his Trump flag.
According to Muder, a neighbor in his Ladera Ranch community recently had a Harris-Walz sign taken. Muder believes the Harris supporter thought he took his sign.
"He was thinking it was me because I have my Trump sign," said Muder. "Which is the furthest from the truth."
Shortly after that, Muder says a Trump 2024 flag above his garage went missing.
"Whoever did it came over to my house during that day, put up a ladder, cut the flag down, and took it with them," said Muder.
Then, on trash day, he said he checked his Harris supporting neighbor’s garbage can at the curb and saw the Trump flag stuffed inside.
"I was on the sidewalk," said Muder. "I knew he had a Ring camera thing, so I said, ‘Hey, can you stay off my property?' I left. It was probably no more than 10 or 15 minutes later he came over to my house screaming and yelling."
In another neighbor’s surveillance video, shared with FOX 11, you can hear the confrontation and the two talking about the Trump flag. Muder claims he was assaulted inside his garage.
"He came in, next thing I know he started assaulting me," said Muder. "He knocked me out. I have a major brain bruise in the back of my head. I got kicked in the face, I believe. There was mass blood. He left me there basically on my own to survive."
Muder was taken to a hospital where he has been for three days. Law enforcement also responded to the scene.
"He could be dead right now and this man didn’t care about it," said Lourdes Barrueto, Muder’s wife. "All because we have a Trump flag."
A spokesperson from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department confirmed with FOX 11 that they responded to a home in Ladera Ranch for a fight this week. One man was taken into custody for assault and battery charges.
The man arrested is believed to be out of jail on bond. FOX 11 knocked on their door Saturday, but there was no response.
"I would tell him I feel sorry for him," said Muder. "If you’re willing to hurt someone over a political view, you need some serious help."