A truck sporting several bumper stickers in support of President Donald Trump was reportedly vandalized and set alight in Washington state.
The word ‘Trump’ was spray-painted in white along the side of the now burnt-out vehicle, which was parked outside a bar in Vancouver on Sunday night.
The owner said he believed this was a targeted attack, owing to the two pro-Trump stickers he had just recently placed on the Nissan Titan truck.
‘All of a sudden I saw the tires were melted, the windows were shattered, and I was just in shock,’ Johnny MacKay told KOIN-TV, an Oregon-based station.
‘If you say anything that someone doesn’t like, you are ultimately a target.
‘You’re automatically the enemy and they have to hurt you.’
MacKay said he went for a few drinks in the Garage Bar and Grille, so decided to leave the truck in its parking lot overnight on Sunday while he took a taxi home.
He said he left the vehicle under a light, hoping to discourage anyone from potentially breaking in.
When he returned to the bar on Monday morning, however, the fire had almost completely gutted the truck.
MacKay’s vehicle had two stickers on its bumper endorsing the president, including one that said: ‘TRUMP 2020’.
‘I literally just put them on this weekend,’ MacKay told the station.
‘If I would’ve known somebody would’ve taken politics this far… I saw them, I thought they were funny and apparently somebody didn’t get the joke.’
A resident who lives opposite the bar, Randy Sanchagrin, said he heard a loud explosion and ran outside to see the truck ablaze and consumed by flames.
‘All of a sudden I hear a loud bomb and the windows shake,’ Sanschagrin said.
He told his sister to call 911 before going back outside to see if anyone was hurt.
Fortunately, MacKay was home by this time and no other injuries are reported.
‘By the time I ran back to the street it was so bad there was no getting close to it,’ Sanschagrin said.
Vancouver Police said the fire was reported by several 911 callers around 2.30am Monday. Officers confirmed are they are treating it as suspicious.
The burnt truck had severe damage, including charred doors and melted seats.
‘We hear a loud boom, we feel the boom, it shakes our bed,’ said Myia Flores, another local resident.
‘Just opening the door and seeing the flames–it was like crazy, it was crazy to see.’
A video posted to Twitter shows flames engulfing the truck and its burned-out body in the aftermath.
MacKay, who said he did not actually vote for Trump but supports the Oval Office, makes his living as an Uber driver.
He said he had a message for the person who has also taken away his source of income.
‘(They) need help,’ he said of the unknown culprit.
‘Whether it was from drugs or a mental condition, this person needs to get help. If they blow up at this, who knows.’
‘It’s a crazy world, man. Right now, with all the politics and everything, it’s a crazy situation,’ MacKay told FOX12.
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